Love Can't Be Denied
by DetectiveMinerva
Summary: Two years after the Great Freeze, Anna is kidnapped from Arendelle by a mysterious queen who has powers eerily similar to Elsa's. Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven set off on another epic journey to a northern kingdom frozen in time, and only the bonds of family and the power of love and forgiveness can restore peace to a long-frozen heart.
1. Once Upon a Time

With all the hype surrounding the upcoming _Frozen 2,_ I've wondered what this sequel would be like. This story is my vision of what could happen after the events of the first film. In this tale, Elsa and Anna learn even more about love, redemption, forgiveness, and the power of family as they discover the existence of _another_ Snow Queen - one who has deeper ties to their family than they could have ever imagined.

Dedicated to my dear friend HAFanForever, whose _Frozen_ analyses have been a great inspiration for this story. Love you, girl!

* * *

 _And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." – 1 Peter 4:8_

 _And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32_

 _Once upon a time, in a kingdom called Arendelle, there lived two sisters, Princess Elsa and Princess Anna. Now, these two princesses were not like any other princess. Princess Anna was wild and feisty and had a heart that saw the good in everyone, and Princess Elsa was quiet and fair, with a magical gift: the ability to create things out of ice and snow. The sisters were the best of friends, playing together in the magical snow Elsa created, until the day when Elsa accidentally struck Anna in the head with her powers._

 _From that day on, Elsa kept herself away from Anna to protect her sister, although Anna thought Elsa was shutting her out. Years passed, lonely years. Three years after the King and Queen were lost at sea, the gates of Arendelle opened again, this time for the people to see Elsa become their queen. Anna was overjoyed to have visitors and a party, and she even thought she had found true love in a dashing guest, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. For the first time in forever, it looked like everything was going to be all right._

 _But Queen Elsa couldn't keep her powers hidden forever. That night, Anna was desperate to marry Prince Hans, but Elsa refused. Anna shouted at her, and in her anger, a blast of ice shot from Elsa's hands, revealing her powers to all of Arendelle. Terrified of hurting Anna or anyone else, Elsa fled the kingdom, leaving Arendelle trapped in eternal winter. She ran and ran, all the way up to the cold North Mountain. There, she thought she could be safe and free. She embraced her powers, building a beautiful ice palace on the mountain and creating a new dress out of snowflakes and frost. The perfect Queen Elsa of Arendelle was now Elsa, the Snow Queen, alone and free._

 _Little did she know that Anna was not about to lose her sister again. The brave princess set off by herself to bring Elsa back and thaw the winter. Somewhere along the way, she met a gruff, but good-hearted ice harvester named Kristoff, and he and his reindeer Sven took Anna up to the North Mountain, but not before they were chased by a pack of hungry, snarling wolves!_

"GRRRR!"

Screams of fright flew up to the vaulted ceiling of the throne room in Arendelle's castle, quickly followed by roars of delighted laughter. The group of eight-year-old schoolgirls were sitting together on the floor, listening with rapt attention as their queen told them the story they all loved best: the tale of the Great Freeze, which had happened only two years before. Every time their teacher took them on their monthly class visit to the castle, the girls begged Queen Elsa to tell them the story that, to their teacher, was valuable history, and to them, a fairy tale come true.

 _This_ particular part of the story was one the girls loved. Whenever Elsa got to the part about Anna, Kristoff, and the wolves, she would jump off her throne, pull her hands into claws, and growl, giving them all the scare they had come to enjoy. And, of course, they begged her for more.

"What happened next, Queen Elsa?" piped up a little redhead named Livi, practically bouncing on the floor.

Elsa smiled at the little girl, who reminded her so much of her sister at that age. "Well, Livi, since you and your friends have heard this story so many times, why don't you tell me what happened?"

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Livi shot to her feet, eager to answer. "Princess Anna, Kristoff, and Sven all jumped a cliff to get away from the wolves!"

"And then they found Olaf in the woods!" cried Ingrid, a little blonde.

"And _then_ they found you, Queen Elsa!" shouted a tiny brunette named Lisbeth.

Elsa laughed, overjoyed by the girls' enthusiasm. "Yes, they did find me, but it wasn't that easy to bring me back, I'm sorry to say. You see, girls, I was still afraid of hurting people, because I didn't see my powers as a gift. I thought they were bad… and I thought I was a monster. I didn't think anyone would ever love me again after what I'd done."

Livi's bright blue eyes were wide. "Your powers aren't bad, Queen Elsa. They're beautiful. And _we_ love you so much."

Elsa hastily wiped a tear from her eye. After all this time, she was still touched whenever someone told her how much she was loved. "Oh, thank you, sweetie. You know, you sound a lot like my sister Anna. That's exactly what she was trying to tell me all along."

Suddenly, Lisbeth bounded up from the floor. "Hey, where _is_ Princess Anna? I thought she was gonna be here, too!" The other girls immediately followed suit, joining in which a chorus of "Where's Princess Anna?"

Elsa held up her hands for quiet. "Calm down, girls. Anna will be here soon. She and Gerda went into town to get a special surprise for all of you."

A gasp went up from the group and the girls started clamoring eagerly. "A surprise? What kind of surprise, Queen Elsa?"

"Well, I'll give you a hint: it's chilly and _very_ sweet."

Livi's little cheeks dimpled in a huge grin. "She's bringing Olaf?"

Elsa burst out laughing. "No, Livi, but I imagine he'll be here cheering with the rest of you. With this kind of surprise, it's hard for Olaf to not make a pig of himself."

With this hint dropped, the girls began talking among themselves, suggestions flying back and forth as to what the surprise could be. Was it cake? Was it ice cream? Was it _both_? Who knew? No one except the queen and the princess, and it was agony to wait. "I can't wait for Princess Anna to get back," Lisbeth said, her dark eyes glowing.

"Me, too," agreed Ingrid. "I hope nothing happens to her or our surprise."

Elsa, who had been listening to this conversation, chuckled. "Don't worry, Ingrid. Anna will be just fine. Nothing is going to happen." Privately, though, the queen crossed her fingers behind her back and sent up a silent prayer. _Lord, please watch over Anna. Don't let anything crazy happen to her._

Little did she know what was happening in the heart of town at that very moment.


	2. The Princess and the Pig

Last time, Elsa was telling the story of the Freeze, as well as praying Anna wouldn't get into trouble. Well, the Lord has a sense of humor, and we all know how Anna can be, especially when she's chasing after something!

This chapter was inspired by the deleted "Halt, You Swine!" scene from _Frozen_ , in which Anna chases after a little boy's pig. She does the same in this chapter, but with very different - and still hilarious - results!

* * *

The scents of baking pastry, melted chocolate, summer flowers, and the salty ocean swirled together and whooshed up Princess Anna's nose as she and Gerda strode through Arendelle's town center. Their mission for Elsa – to pick up an ice cream cake for the children – had been a success, with the baker sending along his best wishes to the kids and the queen. It was a gorgeous summer day, with people milling about the square and merchants selling their wares to anyone who stopped to browse. There were flower vendors, seamstresses, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers, but nowhere to be found was…

"He's not here, Princess Anna."

Lost in thought while she searched the square, Anna gave a jolt as her eyes snapped back to the woman who had been her guardian and friend ever since her parents died. _How could she know who I'm looking for?_ "Who's not here, Gerda?"

Gerda's mouth curved upward in a knowing smile. "With all due respect, Your Highness, don't think you can pull that one on me. That's the look every woman gets when she's looking for the man she loves, particularly when she's engaged to him."

" _Gerda,_ " Anna protested, though she could help neither the smile on her face nor the heat creeping into her cheeks.

"There's no shame in it, dear! All of Arendelle knows how happy you are with Kristoff, none more so than Queen Elsa."

Anna smiled. "Yeah. I think Elsa's just happy that I thought this relationship through and took my time getting to know Kristoff, instead of jumping headfirst into a marriage like I tried to do with You-Know-Who."

Gerda chuckled. "Princess, you make it sound as though Prince Hans was some kind of monster."

"Well, he _was_! He left me to freeze to death and almost killed Elsa, all to make himself king of Arendelle." Anna sighed, her eyes lowering to the ground. "It never would've happened if I'd been the kind of person who looks before she leaps."

Gerda stopped them both in the middle of the street and placed her hands on Anna's shoulders. "Now, listen. I'm not merely the head of household in the castle. I'm your guardian and friend, and I want you to stop that foolish talk. You have always been an impulsive one, it's true, but that's part of who you are. You've grown up a great deal in the last two years, Your Highness, and you've become much more level-headed. However, you wouldn't be yourself if you weren't fun-loving and wild. That's why we all love you so much."

Anna's heart gave a leap. "Really, Gerda?"

"Really," Gerda assured her, a smile stretching her mouth. "Everyone in this kingdom loves you, Princess Anna; you ought to know that by now. Kai and I love you. Olaf loves you. And Queen Elsa and Kristoff love you most of all."

Though she knew how deep the love of both her family and her people ran, Anna still felt like crying. The fact that everyone, including her fiancé and her beloved sister, could love her that much was overwhelming, enough to thaw even the coldest heart. _Love will thaw._ Anna had long held a lot of love in her heart, so to hear how much it meant to everyone else was wonderful. "Thanks, Gerda," she said, folding her guardian in a hug. "It feels great to be loved."

Gerda kissed the top of Anna's head. "You'll always be loved, Princess. You can count on it."

Anna flashed Gerda a grateful smile and the two continued walking, Anna with a new spring in her step. "So, where _is_ Kristoff, anyway? Is he up in the mountains on another ice harvesting trip for Elsa?"

"Actually, he is, and this is a special mission per Her Majesty's orders. Queen Elsa asked Kristoff if he would take some fledgling ice harvesters with him so they could learn the trade. As the Ice Master and Deliverer of Arendelle, the queen thinks it would be a good idea for him to have his own team to command."

Anna had to laugh. "Are you sure, Gerda? Kristoff's the kind of guy who likes working alone. I mean, I can picture him doing this only to please Elsa, since she's the queen and his future sister-in-law, but… he's still not very trusting of other people. I mean, he trusts you and Kai, and me and Elsa and Olaf, but that's about it. Do you think he's gonna get along with a bunch of other guys who are kinda cutting in on his territory, no pun intended?"

"It's funny you should mention that, Your Highness. That's actually the real reason Queen Elsa thought of this little exercise in the first place. She's seen how wonderfully Kristoff gets along with everyone in the castle, and she's hoping he'll be able to show that kind of love and leadership among the people of Arendelle. He's a natural commander, so being in charge of a team of ice harvesters will give him a chance to open up and to be the man the ice harvesters never let him be when he was a boy."

Anna sobered at this thought. When she and Kristoff first met, he had gone by the philosophy of "reindeers are better than people," and only recently had she learned why. Orphaned when he was a little boy, Kristoff had spent the better part of his childhood with the ice harvesters, following the huge, muscled men around like a loyal puppy and desperate to learn the same trade. But rather than take him in and treat him as one of their own, the ice harvesters had ignored him, viewing him as little better than a pest. A few of them had even overstepped their boundaries, going past ignoring him to actually hitting him and calling him awful names if he so much as dared to speak to them.

It was this icy treatment, coupled with several instances of unsavory types attempting to cheat him out of ice purchases and deals when he was older, that fed Kristoff's distrust of not only the ice harvesters, but of people in general. The only one he could trust was his loyal reindeer, Sven, who had been with him ever since he was a boy. A big, oafy, absolutely loveable animal, Sven never judged Kristoff, hurt him, or cheated him in any way. For the longest time, he was the only reliable being Kristoff knew… that is, until Anna blew into his life one dark, cold winter's night.

Following their great adventure to bring Elsa – and consequently, summer – back to Arendelle, Kristoff found that his frozen resolve never to trust others, as well as his own frozen heart, were both beginning to thaw. Thanks to Anna's boundless enthusiasm and optimism, and her unconditional love for all she knew, he was slowly but surely learning how to trust and see the good in other people. Although, he often said, half-jokingly, half-seriously, Sven was still the most loyal "person" he knew.

"It's a shame they never got to know him," Anna said, after a moment of silence. "They would've known what a good man he is. How brave and strong and loyal he is. How much love he has in his heart."

"Their loss, as far as I'm concerned," Gerda replied. "I know Kristoff puts on that grumpy act, but it can't hide the man he truly is: the kind of man that won over the trust of the Snow Queen and put a ring on your finger."

Anna's smile returned full blast as she examined the engagement ring on the third finger of her left hand. One brilliant round diamond surrounded by a snowflake-shaped cluster of smaller diamonds, Kristoff had had the ring fashioned so to remind Anna of the snowy night they had met. At the time, Anna said that it was the most romantic thing he'd ever done. Kristoff had said it was the most expensive piece of ice he'd ever brought home, prompting first a playful swat, then a kiss from his bride-to-be. "I still can't believe I'm getting married. I always thought Elsa would be the first to get married, not me. Heaven knows she's had proposals from every prince this side of Arendelle."

Gerda simply shook her head. "I think Queen Elsa has more important things to worry about right now than finding a husband. She's more concerned with putting the happiness of her people and her sister before her own, which is as it should be. She's proved to everyone that she's a selfless ruler and not a monster."

Again, that was another thought that brought a smile to Anna's face. Since the thaw, Elsa had emerged from her shell as a queen who was fair and generous to her people, and incredibly warm despite her extraordinarily icy powers! Like Kristoff, Elsa had a heart full of love, and Anna did sometimes pray that her sister would find someone special to share that love with. For now, though, she agreed wholeheartedly with Gerda. Elsa didn't need a man to make her life complete. She was wonderful exactly the way she was. "I know. I'm so proud of her."

"As she is of you, the way you help her take care of your people."

Anna's grateful smile quickly vanished upon hearing a child's cries from nearby. Her keen eyes scanned the crowd and quickly zeroed in on a boy no older than eight, who was crying as though he had lost his best friend. "Oh gosh, that poor little boy," she said, her heart going out to him. "I'd better go see if he's lost."

Gerda nodded. "You go do that, Your Highness. I'll take the cake up to the castle."

Anna thanked Gerda and raced across the square to the crying child. "Hey, hey," she said softly, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

The boy snuffled and looked up at Anna, his dark eyes widening when he recognized the princess. "Princess Anna," he choked through his tears, making a shaky attempt to bow.

Under any other circumstances, Anna would have insisted that he not bow to her, but given this case, she let it go. "What's your name, honey?"

The boy sniffed again and made a futile attempt to wipe his tears away. "Anders."

Anna reached into her sleeve and pulled out her handkerchief. "Why are you crying, Anders?" she asked, offering the lace-edged square to him. "Are you lost?"

Anders accepted the handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes. "No. Norm's missing."

"Norm?" Anna wondered if it was his little brother or his best friend.

"My pig!" Anders wailed, his sobbing growing stronger.

 _It must be his pet._ Anna knelt down until she was eye-level with the boy and smiled, hoping it would cheer him up. "Want me to help you find him?"

It worked. Anders gasped, a spark lighting up his eyes. "Oh, would you, please? Thank you, Princess Anna! Thank you!" he cried, flinging his arms around Anna's neck.

Anna laughed and returned the boy's hug. "You're welcome, sweetheart." She rose and took her handkerchief back, scouting the busy square. "Now, let's see. Where would I hide if I were a – PIG!" she shouted, spotting a fat pink behind sticking out of a nearby apple cart, a curly tail protruding from its bristly middle. As if in response to her yell, the pig yanked its head out of the cart, a red apple still lodged in its mouth.

"Halt, you swine!" Anna hollered, taking off after the pig with Anders right on her tail. Norm, unwilling to surrender freedom, squealed and burst out of the cart, scattering apples all over the place. As fast as his fat little legs would carry him, he darted underneath a nearby table loaded with cakes and pies.

"Princess Anna, duck!" Anders yelled.

"Whoa! I've got a better idea!" Just before they collided with the table, Anna threw herself underneath it and slid on her belly to the other end.

"How'd you _do_ that?" Anders asked in awe as Anna righted herself.

"Little trick I learned from a snowman," Anna replied breathlessly, taking off after the pig again. Norm, squealing nonstop, hurtled through town, scattering people right and left, several of whom nearly crashed into Anna and Anders. Fortunately, the two pursuers were able to duck in time. Unfortunately, one townsperson avoiding the runaway pig happened to be the baker, who was carrying a freshly-baked pie to the very table Anna had slid under. In his rush to avoid Norm, he spun around and the pie flew out of his hands – and right into the face of a hell-for-leather Anna.

"Oh, Your Highness! I'm so sorry!" the flustered baker apologized, frantically trying to wipe Anna's face clean.

"It's okay! It's okay! I gotta catch a pig!" Anna blurted out, swiping strawberry filling from her face and continuing her harum-scarum chase. "Norm!" she hollered after the pig, holding up her skirts to run faster and not giving a darn if all of Arendelle was getting a good view of her pantalettes. "Get back here, pig!" When she saw Norm running down the main road that led to the shore, she suddenly got an idea. "Anders, you follow Norm. I'm taking a shortcut!"

Anders did as he was told and sprinted after his pig, while Anna pelted through a narrow alley and down a couple of back paths that she knew led to the docks, where the fishing boats and ships anchored in the fjord. Whipping herself out into sunshine once again, she ducked around the fishermen hauling in nets, but not before one of them accidentally flung a fish in her direction. "Oof!" she grunted as the slippery creature grazed a trail of slime on her already-filthy cheek.

"Sorry, Princess Anna!" the fisherman yelled after her.

"It's okay! I'm dirty anyway!" Anna bellowed over her shoulder. She ran and ran until, clutching a stitch in her chest, she skidded to a halt in front of the main road, where Norm came speeding not ten seconds later. Upon seeing Anna, the pig squealed and tried to hit the brakes, but he scrabbled down the slope to the dock and tumbled right into the princess's waiting arms... and the momentum knocked Anna back onto her butt and back-somersaulted her and Norm right off the dock and _splash_ into the waters of the fjord.

Anders clunked onto the dock and screeched to a halt, his arms pinwheeling as he peered over the edge of the dock. "Norm! Princess Anna!" he howled at the ripples spreading over the water.

The fjord bubbled, and the next instant, Anna's shining red head surfaced. "Anders," she called up to the anxious boy, "I believe this is yours." Treading water with only one arm, she showed Anders the tired, waterlogged pig snuggled into the crook of her other arm.

Anders let out a whoop of joy, as did the townsfolk who had gathered on the dock, eager to see what became of the princess and the pig. Anna, unsure whether to cheer with them or be thoroughly embarrassed, allowed one of the fishermen to pull her up out of the water and return Norm to his delighted owner. "What a chase, Princess!" the muscled sailor said, his tanned face split wide in a smile. "I wonder what Queen Elsa would say to that!"

"Yeah," Anna chuckled, plucking a long piece of seaweed from her hair. _Jeez, what_ is _Elsa gonna say to this?_


	3. We Know Better

Here's where we get a little musical! In this chapter, Elsa finishes telling the story of the Freeze and also tells the girls what makes a true lady - and then, of course, Anna comes in dripping wet and dirty! But all turns out well as they sing to the girls about how they know better.

This chapter pays two homages to deleted moments from _Frozen:_ the "dressing room" scene and the song "We Know Better," which I've rewritten some to better fit with this situation. And there's a Disney Easter egg in here. See if you can find it!

PS: In "We Know Better," the characters singing are as follows: Elsa: Italics; Anna: Bold; Both: Bold italics

* * *

"And here's the best part of the story. Because Anna sacrificed herself to save me, it proved to be the act of true love needed to thaw her heart. I found out that I couldn't control my powers on my own. I needed love to help me do it. So I focused on all the love I had in my heart: for my mama and papa, for Arendelle, and most of all, for Anna, and I thawed the winter and brought summer back to the kingdom. And the gates were never closed again, and Anna and I became true sisters, and everyone… say it, girls!"

"Lived happily ever after!" the girls chorused, clapping their hands as the story came to an end.

Elsa likewise applauded. "Great job, girls! I think you know this story better than I do!"

Ingrid inched closer to the throne where Elsa sat. "You really love Princess Anna, don't you, Queen Elsa?"

Elsa smiled. "Yes, I do, Ingrid. Very much."

"Even when you guys were locked in your rooms and didn't see each other for forever, did you still love each other?" Lisbeth asked.

"Even then, Lisbeth. Anna loved me so much that she didn't stop trying to see me or asking me if I wanted to build a snowman, and the reason I didn't come out of my room was because I couldn't stand it if I hurt Anna again. That's how much I loved her. And, of course, Anna's sacrifice for me was the greatest love anyone could've ever shown."

The girls' eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really. If you love someone so much, their life can mean more to you than your own. And sometimes, it's seeing somebody else in trouble that makes you realize just how much they mean to you." Elsa grinned at the girls. "So, despite what you might read about in fairy tales, it's not all about true love's kiss. True love is about caring for someone more than yourself, and about the bonds that hold a family together, no matter what. After all, what does family mean?"

Livi bobbed up and down, pumping her hand in the air. "Ooh, I know! It means nobody gets left behind!"

"Or forgotten," Elsa finished, beaming a warm smile upon the little girl. "Family's always there for each other."

Ingrid giggled. "Like Princess Anna was there for you when she punched Prince Hans in the face! _Kapow_!" she cried, punching a fist into her hand.

While Elsa and the other girls laughed, one lone girl spoke up, as solemn as could be, "But a princess isn't supposed to punch anyone in the face. She's supposed to be a lady. That's what my mama told me."

A rather sly smile graced Elsa's lips as she cast eyes upon this little one. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Annelise."

"Well, Annelise, you're right. A princess _is_ supposed to be a lady. But let me ask you this, girls." Elsa rose to her feet and spread her arms. "What exactly _is_ a lady? Most people think she's supposed to be calm, collected, _quiet_ ," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "And poised." Here, she struck a rather dramatic pose, which made the girls giggle again. "She's not supposed to think for herself, give orders to anyone, or tell jokes, and she's _certainly_ not supposed to punch anyone in the face, heaven forbid it should be a prince." Elsa looked round at her little subjects. "Does that sound like a true lady to you?" She beamed when she was greeted with a resounding "No!" "No, of course not! What fun is life if you can't think for yourself or give some orders? A real lady can stay calm, know her own mind, defend herself and her family, _and_ command an army if she wants. Look at me. I'm the queen of Arendelle. I think for myself, defend my kingdom, _and_ give orders every day!"

"That's 'cause you're cool, Queen Elsa!" Livi burst out, causing the other girls to join her in giving their queen admiring smiles and cheers of assent.

"I'm cool, huh?" Elsa said with a grin, an idea taking shape in her head. "You think I'm cool now, watch this." She swirled her hands and a flurry of sparkling snowflakes appeared, slowly taking the form of a snowball. The girls were entranced, _ooh_ s and _aah_ s floating through the air as they watched their queen work her magic. When she had a good-sized snowball hovering between her hands, Elsa gave the girls an eager look. "Ready?" Nods and happy "Uh-huhs" answered her, and she threw the snowball into the air, where it exploded into snowy fireworks. Snowflakes and delicate ice crystals rained down upon the group, and the girls cheered and clamored for more, prompting Elsa to create even more magic with her ice powers.

By the time Gerda arrived with a big box in her arms, the throne room had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Snow covered the floor, Elsa's throne was decorated with beautiful ice sculptures, and a snowflake chandelier hung from the ceiling. Moreover, the girls were going to town with the magical snow, having snowball fights and sliding on their tummies across the floor. Gerda chuckled at the joyous sight. "Has Christmas come early?"

"Gerda! You're just in time!" Elsa swept over to her guardian, who was setting the girls' surprise on a nearby table. "Where's Anna?"

"The last I knew, comforting a crying child," Gerda said. "I heard of some big commotion in town, but I didn't see Princess Anna. Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'm sure she's on her way back to the castle even as we speak."

A trumpet fanfare sounded from outside, and a voice cried out, "Princess Anna has returned!" Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, and was prepared to greet her sister when she heard the familiar running footfalls in the corridor that led to the throne room. The door burst open and Anna skidded in, slipping on the icy floor and falling face-first into a snowdrift. She popped out two seconds later, sending snow flying in all directions. "Elsa! Hi!" she said with a huge smile, waving furiously as she trotted over. "I'm back!"

Elsa took one look at her sister and nearly choked on a laugh. Anna was soaking wet and reeking of salty brine and fish, with seaweed in her hair and what looked like strawberry slime all over her face. "Anna, what happened to you?"

Anna gulped in a great lungful of air; clearly, she ran all the way through town _and_ back to the castle. "Pig, pie. Not a pig pie, but pig _and_ pie, and fish. Ooh, and the ocean!"

Elsa managed to corral most of the monster laugh that was fighting to the surface, but still couldn't suppress a snicker. "Well, it sounds like you had a busy day."

"Yeah," Anna exhaled, chuckling weakly. "I guess you've been pretty busy too, huh?"

Elsa looked back over her shoulder at the girls, who were all still frolicking in the snow. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a little snow." Her eyes scanned Anna's sopping gown again. "Which will soon freeze your dress unless you change."

Anna looked down at herself and jumped, as though just realizing she was wet and filthy. "Oh, oh yeah!" She took off running through the snow, heading for the staircase in the opposite corridor. "Is my rose dress up in my room?" she called over her shoulder.

"No, it's still recovering from the last time you wore it," Elsa hollered, just before the door slammed shut behind her sister. Shaking her head, she turned back to the girls, who had surprisingly not noticed the princess's noisy entrance. _Too busy playing and imagining, I guess._ She smiled as some wonderful, distant memories emerged. _Just like me and Anna when we were that young. Some things never change._ She watched the girls playing for a few more minutes, lost in her own happy pre-Freeze thoughts, until the throne room door opened again and Anna entered, dry and groomed, her red hair styled in her favorite braids. This time, the girls noticed. "Princess Anna! Princess Anna's here!" Livi cried, making a mad dash for the princess and hugging her around the waist. The other girls followed suit until Anna was lost in a sea of giggling, hugging children, her fiery hair standing out among the blonde, brown, and auburn curls of the kids.

"Whoa, baby!" Anna laughed, extricating herself from the tangle of arms and legs. "I'm glad to see you all, too!" She finally got herself seated on the step near the throne and pulled Livi into her lap while the other girls gathered around, Elsa standing nearby. "So, has Elsa been having fun with you guys, or has she been cold and stiff?" she asked, shooting her sister a teasing look.

" _Anna,_ " Elsa protested. "You know the cold's never bothered me. We've been having fun, haven't we, girls?"

"Yeah!" Lisbeth said. "Queen Elsa told us all the story of the Great Freeze."

"And she told us what a real lady is," added Ingrid.

"Oh, yeah?" Anna grinned. "Let me see if I can guess what Elsa told you a lady is. Someone who's always perfect, poised, and proper, right?"

"No!" the girls giggled.

"No," Elsa echoed with a sardonic smile. "Some of them _thought_ that was what made a lady, but I told them what _we_ think a real lady ought to be. And you know how that goes, right?"

Anna winked at her big sister. "Right." She smiled at Livi and the rest of the girls. "I think Elsa might've done a better job explaining this to you, but I'm gonna say it again anyway. Just because we're the queen and the princess doesn't mean we can't have fun and play, or even fight to protect each other and Arendelle. Heck, I just chased a pig through town, got smashed in the face with a pie and a fish, and fell into the fjord! Some people might think I'm not a very good princess because that's not _ladylike_ behavior."

"But I don't agree," Elsa said. "Anna's a great princess, and it's all because she's who she is, not who somebody else wants her to be. We know better than that." The sisters shared a smile and motioned for the girls to follow them through the corridors and passages of the castle, where they told – or rather, sang – the reasons why they knew better.

 _Since we both were babies, we were raised in royalty  
_ **People think that maybe it's a pretty cool thing to be  
** _But they don't realize just how much you've got to live up to  
_ **They say some things a queen and princess should and shouldn't do  
** ** _But you and me, we... we know better_**

 _ **1, 2, 3 together, clap together, snap together**_  
 _ **You and me together, knees together, freeze together**_  
 _ **Rise and fall together, love will thaw together**_  
 _ **Always be together, you and me**_

 _ **1, 2, 3 together, clap together, snap together**_  
 _ **You and me together, knees together, freeze together**_  
 _ **Rise and fall together, love will thaw together**_  
 _ **Always be together, you and me**_

 _They say a queen must be sugar mixed with spice_  
 _She never builds things from snow and ice_  
 **They say a princess wears pink and frilly clothes**  
 **They say she never laughs and snorts milk out her nose**  
 **They say she's beauty and she's grace**  
 **They say she never breaks a vase or punches princes in the face!  
 _But you and me, we, we know better_**

"Princess Anna, did you really punch Prince Hans in the face?" Livi asked, gazing up at the princess with admiring blue eyes.

"I sure did!" Anna replied proudly with a huge grin. "Nobody hurts my sister and gets away with it!"

Lisbeth hopped up and down to catch the queen's attention next. "Queen Elsa, would you ever punch someone in the face?"

Ever the proper little one, Annelise shook her head. "She can't do that, silly! She's the queen!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure, Annelise," Elsa gently countered. "Just because I'm queen doesn't mean I can't fight."

 _They say a queen must be super-duper sweet  
_ **She doesn't fight; she doesn't sweat  
 _And you never see her eat_**  
 **They say a princess doesn't climb and scrape her knee  
She never chases pigs through town and falls into the sea**  
 **They say she's poised**  
 _They say she's fair_  
 _ **She never mentions UNDERWEAR!**_  
 **Or longs to see the world out there**  
 ** _But you and me, we, have great ideas of our own_**  
 ** _Now that we are together, not alone_**

 _Now that I'm queen_  
 **And I'm your right hand**  
 _We get to travel  
 **Throughout the land**_  
 **I tell them of my sister and the magic things she can do**  
 _We take care of our people and they all love_  
 _ **Me and you**_  
 _ **No one can tell us what true sisters should be**_  
 _ **As long as we're together, you and me**_

After a romp through town and a meet-and-greet with Arendelle's people, the group headed back to the castle for the special surprise. "All right, girls, Princess Anna and I have a big surprise for you," Elsa announced, once they were all gathered in the throne room again. She opened the box and the girls gasped at what was inside: a triple-chocolate ice cream cake with a top layer of mint ice cream. "It's to thank you for being so wonderful every time you come to visit. And don't forget," Elsa added, smiling at all of the girls, "what a real lady, queen, or princess should be."

"Absolutely," Anna agreed. "You're all princesses to us. And now, let's eat!"

The girls whooped it up as the cake was cut and served, Elsa's enchanted snow helped to keep everyone cool and the ice cream frosty cold, and a happy queen and princess watched their youngest subjects with joy, believing that nothing could possibly get any better than this.

Neither one had any way of knowing that, at that very moment, someone was watching them, her fury growing with every passing moment.


	4. More Than Just the Spare

Last time, Elsa and Anna were celebrating with the schoolgirls, but they had no clue they were being watched by someone with an ulterior motive. Now, the sisters are preparing for Anna and Kristoff's engagement party, and two of Kristoff's ice harvesters are about to have an unpleasant encounter with a mysterious stranger from the north.

The two sections in this chapter were inspired by deleted scenes from _Frozen_ : the "Dressing Room" scene with Elsa and Anna, and the "Evil Elsa" scene that has intrigued so many people and caused many to wonder... _what if?_ The deleted song "More Than Just the Spare" also plays a role here.

* * *

"There's this… and this… ooh, and _this_!"

"Which one?"

" _This_ one!" Anna flung herself out of the dressing room closet and spread her arms wide, swirling around in the latest of umpteen gowns she was trying on. Elsa looked up from the sheaf of royal documents she was perusing and appraised her sister. The gown was beautiful, made of pale pink silk, and the queen, having given her critique of every dress so far, nodded her approval. "I like that one. Why don't you wear that one to the engagement party?"

"It's a definite maybe," Anna said, spinning around in the dress once more. "But I've still got a whole closet full of dresses left to try on." She darted back into the closet and fabric began rustling again. "Who knew we had this many gowns between the two of us?"

"Probably the same person who knew we had 8,000 salad plates," Elsa chuckled, returning to her paperwork. Aside from the guest list, menu, and decoration plans for Anna and Kristoff's upcoming engagement party, the queen had a bunch of trade agreements to go through. As she riffled through the documents, she breathed a sigh of relief that she no longer had to do business with Weselton (or "Weaseltown," as Kai so fondly called it). The Duke had, oddly enough, not posed a great threat during the Freeze, despite the fact that his calling Elsa a monster had cut to the quick. When push came to shove, he had proved himself a coward, whining about the cold. However, Elsa had no doubt that, had he been thinking clearly, he would have found a way to exploit her and her powers for personal gain. Following the old adage "better safe than sorry," she cut off all trade with Weselton and let the Duke go with a scolding from Kai, knowing that losing access to Arendelle's wealth would be punishment enough.

"Ha!" Anna's delighted cackle brought Elsa up from her papers again. "What is _this_?"

At first, Elsa wondered if some kind of flowery beast was struggling to emerge from the darkened space. The next instant, Anna exploded out of the closet in a whirl of outrageously clashing colors. Elsa took one look at her sister and could not stop the mirth bubbling up inside her, letting it all go in a roar of laughter. "Let me rephrase that, Anna. What the _heck_ is that?"

It was the ugliest dress both girls had ever seen. Made of bright orange velvet with a pattern of shocking fuchsia flowers, the outfit resembled a fuzzy puffball more than a ball gown, for it puffed and billowed _everywhere –_ the sleeves were oversized bell shapes, the bodice made petite Anna look as though she had an enormous bosom, and the skirt was so wide in both hips and behind, it was a miracle the princess had even managed to squeeze through the doorway.

"The dress I'm wearing to the engagement party," Anna teased, shaking her padded hips. "Kristoff would have a heart attack!"

" _I'd_ have a heart attack if you wore that to bed, let alone the party," Elsa laughed, wiping happy tears from her eyes. "You look like somebody's sofa!"

"Ooh-la-la!" Anna giggled, dancing around as best she could in the puffy dress. "My hips are here, my hips are there! Oops, pardon my behind, young man! Oh, no, no cake for me. I might lose my girlish figure!"

Elsa clapped her hands in delight. "You are such a goofball!"

"Took you till now to figure that out?"

Elsa rose from her seat and gave Anna a playful shove toward the closet. "Go take that nasty thing off before you blind somebody."

"Or before I make you bust a gut, right?" Anna shoved herself through the closet door again, tugging the huge dress as she went, and kept up her chatter while Elsa went back to her papers. "It's great to hear you laugh, you know."

"Yeah, well, it feels great to laugh. Heaven knows I've got a lot of years to make up for when it comes to laughter."

"Aw, come on! You've been laughing a lot in the last two years!"

"Only because I live with a bunch of clowns! Between you, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven, there's never a dull moment around here."

 _Rustle-rustle._ "Face it, Elsa, if we weren't goofy, you'd be bored out of your mind. You'd enjoy the peace and quiet for about five minutes, and then you'd be wishing for someone to giggle, burp, or play pranks on people."

"You know something, Anna? You're right." Elsa stacked her papers neatly and laid them aside. "I lived in nothing but gloom and doom for thirteen years, and I didn't laugh even once that whole time. Now that I know how to control my powers, the kingdom's happy, and you and I are finally close, I'm laughing every single day. I'd miss all the craziness that happens here."

"Well, between ruling a kingdom, dealing with heads of state, and putting up with us, you've sure got a lot of crazy on your hands."

Elsa smiled. "Yeah, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Okay, I think I've got one. Now, don't you dare laugh at me."

"Is it another monstrosity?" Elsa's joke fell flat as Anna strode out of the closet once more. "Wow!"

The gown Anna had chosen was a dream in violet silk, with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a pattern of golden rosemaling dotting the fabric. The princess twirled around once for her sister's inspection. "Wow me?" she asked, hardly daring to believe anyone was saying _wow_ about her.

"Yes, wow you! You look beautiful!"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Elsa. I'm not as beautiful as you, and you know it."

"No, I _don't_ know it," Elsa said firmly. "Anna, you are beautiful inside and out; how come you can't see it?"

Anna fiddled with one of the pleats in her skirt. "I don't know," she said, sitting down in the nearby window seat. "I guess… growing up knowing you'd be queen someday, and then seeing you at your coronation and then in your ice palace. For some reason, I think I've always thought queens are supposed to be more beautiful than princesses. Royal rank and all that."

Elsa thought that a ridiculous statement. "Royal rank, my eye. That's crazy talk. There is nothing in the rulebooks and no royal decree that says a queen is supposed to be more beautiful than a princess. Look at the story of Snow White. She was a princess, and she was more beautiful than her stepmother, the Queen. Remember? 'Magic mirror on the wall…'"

"'Who is the fairest one of all?'" Anna finished. "And the Queen was angry and jealous because Snow White was the fairest one of all. Tell you the truth, I always wondered if it was really because Snow White was happier than she was. There's nothing that ticks a person off more than knowing someone else is happier."

"Boy, that's the truth." Elsa crossed the room and took a seat beside her sister, sliding an arm around Anna's shoulders. "Anna, let me ask you something. When you were growing up, did you ever hear anything about an heir and a spare?"

Anna puckered her forehead and lips in thought. "No, I didn't _hear_ anything, but I read it in a story once. Why?"

"Well, you know what it means, don't you?"

"Yeah, it means the firstborn will inherit the throne and the second-born is just there for decoration. Wait a minute, do you think I thought – oh, _Elsa_!" Anna exclaimed. "I never thought for a second that anyone thought I was useless. I know Mama and Papa never did; they loved us both the same. Kai and Gerda never treated me like the extra button on a coat because I was the second-born sister. They've always treated us both like their daughters. I mean, sure, I don't have magical powers like you do, but it doesn't mean I don't have something else to offer, right?"

"Right." Elsa hugged her sister close. "Anna, your gift is something better than magical powers. You have a heart that sees the good in everybody and loves everyone, and you believe better than anyone else that love can conquer evil. I never would've known that if it hadn't been for you."

Anna smiled up at her sister. "So I'm not just the spare, huh?"

"No way." Elsa kissed Anna on top of her head and hugged her even tighter. "You're more than just the spare, Anna. You're _you._ " The sisters remained locked in their hug for what seemed an eternity, until a knock at the door brought them back to reality. "Who is it?" Elsa called.

"It's Kai, Your Majesty. Is Princess Anna in there with you?"

"Yes, Kai, I'm here," Anna answered. "Is something wrong?"

"No, ma'am. I just wanted to inform you that Master Kristoff has returned from his ice harvesting trip."

"Kristoff's back?" Anna's mood shot up like fireworks and she sprang from the window seat in glee. "Elsa, Kristoff's back!"

"I get the picture, Anna," Elsa laughed. "Tell Gerda it'll be three for dinner, Kai. We'll be down in just a minute."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Kai said, his fading footfalls announcing his departure.

Elsa's eyes slid back to the face of her sister, who was practically dancing around the room. "Are you gonna change for dinner, or are you gonna tear the butt out of that dress when you slide down the banister to meet Kristoff?"

Anna threw her sister a lopsided, mock glare. "I only tore the butt out of _one_ dress sliding down the banister, thank you very much."

"Yeah, at dinner five months ago. You waltzed into the Great Hall and flashed your pantalettes to everyone within a five-mile radius; thank goodness it was only me, Kristoff, Olaf, Kai, and Gerda."

"Hey, it's not my fault there was a big splinter in the rail. At least it's fixed now, and I can slide right into Kristoff's arms without tearing my skirt. And don't worry," Anna said, grinning at her sister as she disappeared into the closet, "I won't go to dinner with a ripped dress."

Elsa shook her head in spite of her smile. "No chance of your showing your butt, either, if you know what I mean?"

"Now _that_ I can't promise," Anna returned, setting both of them off in another fit of laughter.

* * *

High in the far reaches of the lands to Arendelle's north, Emil and Filip, the two ice harvesters Kristoff was training were in the process of scouting the terrain for their leader. Having had a successful day learning how to cut, clamp, and transport blocks of ice, Kristoff had decided to reward his two trainees by letting them have free rein to survey the rest of the northern land. This land, he said, contained frozen lakes and rivers that he hadn't yet explored on his travels, and would be new ground for ice harvesting, if they returned with a good report and secured Queen Elsa's blessing to work. So, with Kristoff delivering the freshly-cut ice back to Arendelle, Emil and Filip rode off to the northern mountains, eager to explore and to please the Ice Master and Deliverer.

So far, they had discovered five freshwater ponds, two rivers, and one enormous lake, all of which were completely frozen over and blanketed with a layer of snow. Shivering despite their warm clothing, the men were ecstatic, charting new maps with all the enthusiasm of little boys.

"This is great!" Filip crowed as they stood on the shore of the lake, their horses prancing, almost as excited as they were. "Emil, are you getting everything?"

"I'm drawing as fast as I can," Emil replied, his pen flying over the parchment he held. "Don't rush me, or else all Master Kristoff's gonna see on here is a bunch of ink blots where his new ice harvesting territory should be. And don't forget, we're doing this for Queen Elsa, too. She won't want to read a map that's nothing but ink."

Filip nodded. "Point taken. I just wanna make sure we get everything, for Master Kristoff _and_ Queen Elsa. I mean, this is big, Emil. They're trusting us to explore new land. Who knows? Maybe we'll even discover a kingdom nobody's ever heard of."

Emil completed his drawing, stashed the map and his pen in his saddlebag, and rolled his eyes at his companion. "A kingdom, Filip? Get real. If we find a whole new kingdom in this frozen ice cube, I'll do a reindeer mating call in my long johns." He nudged his horse and took off, Filip following close behind. The two continued to banter about lost kingdoms and whatnot until they came to a deep crevasse between two mountains, almost like a passage. By this time, snow had begun to fall, cold flakes blowing into the men's faces.

Filip brushed at his face with a gloved hand, squinting to see through the flurrying snow. "I wonder what's in there?"

"Still wishing we could find a kingdom?" Emil asked.

"Hey, it won't hurt us to look, will it?" Not waiting for an answer, Filip urged his horse onward into the crevasse. Emil had no choice but to follow, and soon caught up with his friend. Minutes later, they reached the other end of the deep crack and came out onto…

"Okay," Emil breathed, eyes wide at the sight before them, "I'll strip down to my long johns and call for a reindeer anytime you want."

Filip's wish had come true. The crevasse opened into a secluded valley, hidden away from the world by a circle of mountains. In the middle of the valley was, indeed, a kingdom, but not just any kingdom. The men felt chills slide down their spines, and not just because of the frigid weather. The kingdom was abandoned, lifeless, and frozen in time… eerily like another kingdom had been two years ago.

"This is creepy," Filip said, his voice completely devoid of its prior zeal. "What happened here?"

"Got me," Emil replied, shivering in the cold. "But it looks almost like…"

"Arendelle, I know." A biting wind blew over them, chilling them both. "You get the feeling something or _someone_ doesn't want us to be here?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Emil fixed his eyes on his companion, urgency rooted in his eyes. "We need to tell Queen Elsa."

"And Master Kristoff?"

"First, we tell Queen Elsa. If anybody deserves to know about a frozen kingdom, it's her." The two wheeled their horses around and made a trot for the crevasse, but they wouldn't reach it unscathed. All of a sudden, a glowing swirl of snow whipped around Emil, yanking him up off his horse and suspending him high in the air. Filip barely had time to scream his companion's name when another glowing snow swirl seized him and hauled him up into the air as well. They kicked and grunted and struggled against the unknown power that held them prisoner, shouting for help, but only the howling of the wind answered them, taunting them and blowing heavy gusts of snow in their faces. And then, out of the blizzard, there walked a shape. A tall, narrow shape with glowing hands – the source of the magical snow. The shape continued to approach until it slowly took the form of a woman.

Emil and Filip's jaws dropped. If they'd thought the kingdom's resemblance to a frozen Arendelle was eerie, it was nothing compared to this woman. She was a tall figure, with hair as white as the snow pulled into an elaborate bun, pale, wintry skin, and icy cold blue eyes that glared up at them over a mouth that was drawn into a victorious smirk. She wore a midnight-blue, sparkling gown and cape that swirled around her in the vicious wind, and a crystalline tiara studded with sapphires sparkled among the silver locks of her hair. Save for some deliberate mistakes from the master hand that created her, this woman – obviously a queen in her own right – bore a frightening resemblance to Queen Elsa of Arendelle, right down to the ice powers that were emanating from her hands.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she greeted them, in a tone that was as mocking as her expression. Her voice, deep and imperious, was every bit as cold as her winter storm. "Why are you in my mountains?"

Filip groaned. The pain of her power was growing stronger by the minute. "We're… ugh… scouting ice harvesting territory."

"For whom?" the queen asked, as calmly as if she were asking them about the weather.

The men fought some more, but it did absolutely no good. The queen's powers were too strong. "Ugh… Queen Elsa of Arendelle," choked Emil.

The queen's smirk grew into a wicked smile. "Oh, really? How are the Snow Queen of Arendelle and her sister?"

Emil stopped struggling and stared at the queen in shock. "How do you know about Queen Elsa and Princess Anna?"

"I see everything." The queen took a step closer. "Including the two of you intruding in my kingdom. Do you two know which kingdom this is?" When she received no answer, the queen clenched her hands. A loud cracking noise rent the air and the icy blast holding the men suspended intensified, causing them to scream in pain. "No! No, Your Majesty!" Filip cried, tears pouring down his face.

The queen chuckled evilly. "I'm not surprised." She cast her arms forward and hurled Emil and Filip through the air into a snowbank. "Go! Go back to Arendelle. Tell the queen and the princess everything – and I mean _everything_ ," she said menacingly, sending another blast of ice in their direction. The men yelped and scrambled to their feet, making a mad dash for their frightened horses. As they mounted and prepared to escape, the queen yelled after them once more. Although they were loath to obey her, compulsion won and they spun their horses around to face her. Standing as still as a figure in the middle of a snow globe, she fixed them with her piercing, bitter blue stare and her curled lips. "One more thing. Tell Queen Elsa and Princess Anna to visit Sunnmøre sometime." And with a swirl of ice and snow, she was gone. With the blizzard growing worse by the second, Emil and Filip spurred their horses and sped off through the crevasse, both swearing that they heard a scream of fury – and pain – carrying after them.


	5. One Thought Crystallizes

Last time, Kristoff's ice harvesters were running from a mysterious queen with all-too-familiar ice powers. Now, Kristoff has returned to the castle with a gift for Anna, but the family's joy is soon about to be interrupted by a story from the harvesters themselves.

* * *

"Okay, turn around and close your eyes."

"Wait, what?"

"Just trust me. I've got a surprise for you."

Anna folded her arms and threw her fiancé a skeptical look. "Uh-uh. You're not gonna fool me again. The last time you said you had a surprise for me, you pinned me down on the couch in the parlor and tickled me, and you didn't quit until Elsa sent some icy wind up your butt."

In spite of the steely resolve she had just displayed, the princess felt herself weakening at the look he was giving her. To those who only knew him in passing or at a glance, Ice Master and Deliverer Kristoff Bjorgman was the last person to get all soft and mushy. A tall, strapping man who had built his strength and stamina cutting and hauling blocks of ice, with keen brown eyes peeking out from under a shaggy blond forelock, he made an intimidating presence whenever he delivered ice in town. To those who knew him best, though, Kristoff was not the grizzly bear he appeared to be, and no one knew this better than Anna. Sure, those enormous hands of his were rough and calloused from years of hard labor, but Anna knew that those hands were also capable of gently cradling her face for a kiss, holding her waist in a strong yet tender embrace, and of tickling her until she was red-faced from laughing. She also knew that he had a soft, even silly, side, which came out whenever he was with her and when he was with his loyal reindeer, Sven. That silly side was showing itself now, in the form of a goofy, doe-eyed look that Anna was sure he had learned from Sven.

"Don't give me that look," she warned, trying and failing to keep a giggle out of her voice.

"Aha, I gotcha now," Kristoff teased. "You're laughing."

"And you're not fair," Anna accused, landing a playful punch on his chest. "All right, if it makes you happy, I'll turn around and close my eyes. But the second I feel you try to tickle me, I'm siccing Elsa on you." She did as he asked and waited for the tickling to start, but no tickling came. Instead, she felt something cool and metallic drape around her neck, and then a wonderful warm sensation against her chest. "Okay," Kristoff said, "Open them!"

Anna opened her eyes and looked down at the source of the warmth. A brilliant, ruby-red crystal, glowing with a flame-like light and radiating gentle heat, was resting against her bodice, suspended from a silver chain. "Kristoff!" she exclaimed, reaching up as though yearning to touch the beautiful object. "A fire crystal?"

"Uh-huh." Kristoff nodded proudly. "I went to visit Mom and Dad on the way home," he explained, referring to his troll parents, Cliff and Bulda, who lived in the Valley of the Living Rock. "A troll can only earn a fire crystal if he proves the fire in his heart, which means he has to perform an act of either great courage or great love."

Anna's hand closed around the crystal, and the warmth absorbed into her palm, flooding her entire body. "And my act was..."

"Your sacrifice for Elsa," Kristoff finished. "The reason Mom, Dad, and Grand Pabbie waited so long to give it to you was because they wanted to be absolutely sure you and I were gonna be together." He rolled his eyes. "Mom was dead set on making it an engagement gift."

Anna laughed. "So I guess this makes me an honorary troll, huh?"

"Sure does. You're already marrying one, so now you get to be one, too."

Anna released the crystal and gazed up at Kristoff. "How did you earn yours?"

Kristoff was surprisingly quiet. "I, uh..." He ran a hand through his hair, looking very sheepish for someone who was anything but. "I saved Sven from a game hunter. I was sixteen at the time, and we were out on a harvesting trip like usual. I was taking a nap, and Sven was wandering around eating pine needles off the trees. I didn't worry about him 'cause that's what he usually did; he never ran away or went too far.

"But then I woke up, and I heard this bellowing. I looked around, but Sven was nowhere in sight. All I could hear was him bellowing for me. So, I followed the sound until I came to a clearing in the woods. And there he was, caught in a trap. I got him free, but right after that, the hunter came crashing through the trees. I yelled at Sven to get out of there, and the hunter tried to shoot him with a bow and arrow, but I knocked his hand out of the way just in time. He wound up shooting the arrow into the trees, and then he pounded me for letting his trophy escape." Kristoff shrugged. "I came home with a bloody nose, a bunch of bruises, and bragging rights."

"You won?"

"Yup. Anyone who wants to mess with Sven is gonna have to go through me." Kristoff chuckled. "Well, he almost did," he said, touching his crooked nose, which Anna now realized was a souvenir of the fight with the hunter. "I know it sounds weird, like I might not deserve a fire crystal just for saving a reindeer, but Sven's my best friend. I found him in the woods not long after my birth parents died. He was just a fawn, and he was lost and crying. Best I figured, some idiot killed his parents and he was an orphan just like me. We needed each other."

"And Grand Pabbie knew that when you saved him," Anna said. "You would've given your life to save Sven, and you _did_ save him. It doesn't matter if you save a reindeer or a human. If you save the life of someone you love, that's proving the fire in your heart. You earned that fire crystal."

Kristoff reached into a small pouch at his belt and drew out his own fire crystal. "I've carried it with me ever since Grand Pabbie gave it to me, as a reminder."

"Of saving Sven?"

"Yeah. And to save someone else, if needs be."

"Fire crystal has that power?"

"Uh-huh. Fire crystal can burn the enemies of those who wear it or wield it, and it can also melt through the coldest ice. And before you ask, no, I can't use it in my ice harvesting. If I used it to melt the ice, I could increase my business, but it could lead to greed, and greed leads to evil. If fire crystal is ever used for evil, the person bearing it will be consumed in flames. That's why the ancient troll laws forbid the use of fire crystal for personal gain. It's a symbol of great power, and you know what they say about great power."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Anna said, taking her crystal in hand once more. "Thank you, Kristoff. I promise I'll take good care of it."

"I know you will." Kristoff pulled her into a hug and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "I love you, Anna."

Anna sighed in bliss and rested her head on his big shoulder. "I love you, too."

"Hey, you two want to break it up? I'd like to actually stomach my dinner, thank you very much."

Anna shot a mock glare at her sister, who was standing in the doorway of the throne room, her arms folded and a grin on her face. "I thought you were checking on dinner, not spying on us."

"I was, and I'm not," Elsa said, taking a step past the threshold. "I came here to tell you dinner's ready, but if you're gonna play kissy-face instead..."

" _Elsa!_ " Anna groaned, giggling. "We're not playing kissy-face! Kristoff just gave me a present, and I was thanking him."

"What present?" Elsa's eyes widened when she saw the glowing red crystal hanging from Anna's neck. "A fire crystal? But those aren't given out except to trolls, and only when..." Elsa stopped in the middle of reciting the troll law. "It's because you saved me, isn't it?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah. It's my engagement present from Bulda, Cliff, and Grand Pabbie. I'm now an honorary troll because Kristoff and I are getting married."

Elsa smiled. "That's one way to tell if your in-laws love you." She crossed the room and placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "But all kidding aside, Anna, that's an amazing gift. Use it wisely. With great power - "

"Comes great responsibility, yes, I know," Anna said. "Kristoff told me all about it."

Elsa's eyes shifted to her future brother-in-law. "And this is yet another reason why I like you," she said to him. "You're not brainless like most of the princes I know."

Kristoff laughed. "Coming from you, Elsa, that's a huge compliment. Now, do you mind if I at least give my fiancée a hug?"

Elsa pretended to be frustrated. "Oh, go ahead." She shook her head fondly at the embracing couple. "At least you two aren't nasty about warm hugs."

"Did somebody say _warm hugs_? 'Cause I love warm hugs!"

All heads turned as a diminuitive white snowman trotted into the throne room, a little snow flurry raining down over his head. "Hi, Olaf!" Anna greeted, waving to their little buddy.

"Hey, Olaf! Did Sven get his dinner after I put him in the stable?" Kristoff asked. Following Kristoff and Sven's move from the Valley of the Living Rock to the castle, Sven had been provided a place of honor in the royal stables, and Olaf, having formed a bond with the reindeer during the Freeze, took up residence in Sven's stall as his stablemate.

"He sure did! Two buckets of oats and a big pile of hay! Oh yeah, and I grabbed a carrot from your sled to give him, so he wouldn't try to eat my nose," Olaf said, causing everyone to chuckle. It had become almost a running joke, the way Sven always tried to eat Olaf's carrot nose. "So, what's everybody talking about?"

"Kristoff gave me a present from his parents, Olaf," Anna explained, showing him the fire crystal.

"Ooh, it's beautiful," Olaf breathed, entranced by the glowing red crystal. "Can I touch it?"

"I wouldn't," Anna said kindly. "It's a fire crystal, so it might set your hands on fire or even make you melt."

"Ooh! Okay, no touch," Olaf said, tucking his twig hands behind his back. "I guess the guys coming in on the horses won't be able to touch it, either?"

"What guys?" Elsa asked, narrowing her eyes at the snowman.

Olaf pointed a hand at the nearest window. "The guys who just rode through the gates. Man, they look really scared."

"Scared?" Kristoff peered out the window Olaf was pointing to. "It's Emil and Filip! Yeah, they _do_ look scared. Something must've happened to them in the mountains."

Elsa motioned for them to follow her. "Come on, let's get them inside."

Minutes later, the foursome had Emil and Filip, who were chilled to the bone and still crusted wtih ice despite the summer heat, inside the castle, bundled into fresh clothes and warm blankets, and seated at the dinner table, where they were now spooning hot lapskaus into their mouths as fast as they could. When they finally stopped shivering enough to speak, Kristoff posed his first question. "What happened to you guys? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Emil swallowed a mouthful of steaming stew. "You're not far off, Master Kristoff. What Filip and I saw up there..." He shuddered and shoveled more lapskaus into his mouth.

"What _did_ you see up there?" Elsa asked, picking up the thread of conversation.

"Funny _you_ should be the one to ask, Your Majesty," Filip croaked. "You and Princess Anna need to know what's going on so you can protect yourselves."

"Protect ourselves?" Elsa asked, raising her eyebrows at the sudden red flag. "Filip, I think you and Emil need to tell us what's going on, _now_."

Both men froze with their spoons halfway to their lips. When Elsa used that tone of voice, nobody dared argue. "Okay," Filip said, setting his spoon down. "Just brace yourselves." Without further ado, the two faced their queen, their princess, their master, and Olaf and began their tale.

Anna could hardly believe her ears. A frozen kingdom? A queen with ice powers? A sense of foreboding and chills? This was beginning to sound familiar. _Way_ too familiar. One glance sideways at her sister told her that Elsa was thinking the same thing. The queen's chin was set, her eyes were shining with anger and fear, and her hands were clenched tightly together on the table. Right then and there, Anna knew something had to be seriously wrong. Elsa only locked her hands together like that if she was either angry or frightened, to prevent herself from losing control and shooting ice from her hands. In the last two years, the only times Elsa hadn't been able to control her powers were when she caught cold - her sneezes produced magical little snowmen called Snowgies, and as a result, Olaf now had over 2,000 little brothers and sisters living with Marshmallow at Elsa's ice palace.

Now, though, Elsa was struggling to maintain her powers yet again. "What did the queen look like?" She was also trying to keep a calm voice, but Anna could hear the quaver of anxiety in it nonetheless.

"Well, she was tall, about as tall as you, and she _looked_ a lot like you, Queen Elsa, only older."

"How much older?"

Emil shrugged. "I'm guessing sixty-ish. She was still beautiful, though, but evil." He shivered again. "Her hair was pure white, and she was wearing it in a bun, not in a braid like you. She had blue eyes like yours, and she was wearing a dress and cape kinda like yours, except hers was a real dark blue. And she was wearing a crown, a silver one with sapphires."

Elsa closed her eyes. Anna wanted to lay her hand on her sister's shoulder to comfort her, but she knew from experience not to make any sudden moves when Elsa's powers were on the edge. One wrong touch, and the queen could release a blast of ice at anything or anyone. "Did she say anything else to you, other than asking why you were in her kingdom?"

"Yeah." Emil pulled his blanket tighter around him. "She asked how you and Princess Anna were doing."

"Wait a minute, slow down," Anna said, throwing a hand out to stop him. "She _knew_ us? She called us by our names? How did she know?"

"That's the scary part, Your Highness. All she said was 'I see everything.' Then she sent us packing, and she told us to tell you and Queen Elsa everything that had happened. And right when we were about to hightail it out of there, she stopped us again. She glared at us with those icy eyes and said, 'Tell Queen Elsa and Princess Anna to visit Sunnmøre sometime.'"

"Sunnmøre?"

Everybody jumped back in their chairs as Elsa leapt up from her seat and a short blast of ice released from her body, coating her high-backed chair and creating small icicle spikes. Nobody had expected this reaction from the queen. She truly looked frightened now, her blue eyes wide and her mouth agape. "Emil, you and Filip had better be telling me the truth. You absolutely heard her call the kingdom Sunnmøre?"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," Emil said, raising his right hand. "I swear on my mother's life."

Elsa put her head in her hands. "No," she whispered.

"Elsa?" Anna asked tentatively.

The queen inhaled deeply and faced her family, her face now etched with steel. "Give me a minute." She pulled the nearby bell call and Kai appeared a moment later. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"First, please take Emil and Filip upstairs and put them into two of the guest bedrooms. Make sure they're warm and they have plenty of hot gløgg to drink. They had a bad experience up in the mountains."

"What happened?" Kai asked, his face knotting into concern as the men were brought to him.

"That brings me to my next question. Are the family annals still in Papa's study?"

"Yes, ma'am. Do you need them?"

"Please. Bring them to _my_ study as soon as you can. There's something I need to check out."

Kai looked as though he wanted to ask more questions, but he seemed to sense the urgency of the situation and kept the impulse in check. "Right away, Your Majesty. Come with me, gentlemen," he said, motioning for Emil and Filip to follow him.

Once they were out of earshot, Elsa turned back to her family, who were all staring back at her in complete confusion. "All of you, come with me."

Throwing all caution to the winds, Anna reached out and touched her sister's elbow. "Elsa, what's wrong? What's going on here?"

Elsa sighed and faced Anna, her lips set in a grim slash. "An icy blast from the past, that's what's going on." She said nothing further as she continued on, and neither did Anna or Kristoff. Olaf alone broke the silence. "Whoever this queen is, she sure doesn't sound like the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever," he commented, following his friends out of the dining room.


	6. Frozen Heart

Last time, Elsa was leading the others to inspect the annals of the royal family of Arendelle, in order to find out more about Sunnmøre and the mysterious Snow Queen. They find out more than they expected, including a prophecy that tells of a ruler with a frozen heart, who can see all and curse the bonds of love she cannot understand.

Note: The troll prophecy mentioned in this chapter is the one from the deleted song "Spring Pageant," except I've rewritten the last line to fit in with the plot of this story. Some details from Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale _The Snow Queen_ also come into play here, as well as a nod to _Harry Potter,_ so see if you can find them all!

* * *

 _THUD!_

The noise echoed throughout the queen's spacious study as Elsa slammed a massive book down on her desk. The book contained the annals of the royal family of Arendelle, dating back over 300 years. The earliest pages were fragile and had softened with age, while the newest pages, the ones marking the births of Elsa and Anna, Elsa's coronation, and the Great Freeze, were crisp and fresh. The entire history of the family was recorded in this book. Elsa was certain that if any book could give them answers about this mysterious Snow Queen and the kingdom of Sunnmøre, it was this one.

"The last time I had this book in here, it was to record the dates and events of the Freeze," Elsa explained, opening the annals to the first page. "I did a little light reading of it after that, but then I returned it to Papa's study."

" _This_ is light?" Kristoff quipped, gaping at the enormous book.

Ignoring the look Elsa shot Kristoff, Anna sidled closer to her sister and peered at the front page. "Look, Elsa, it's our entire lineage, all the way back to King Henrik in the 1500s."

Olaf hopped up onto the desk and likewise took a peek at the genealogy. "Wow. That's a lot of kings and queens. There's more in there than those cards I like to build houses with."

"Yeah, it's a lot, Olaf," Anna said. "I'd forgotten our family's ruled Arendelle for that long."

"Yeah, but I'm not looking _that_ far back. I know I've seen Sunnmøre mentioned in here before..." Elsa began flipping pages, passing King Henrik's reign and continuing on through generations of royals, both of Arendelle and of other kingdoms who married into the family. "When I was training to become queen, I had to study the events listed in this family history."

"Why? To make sure you knew who you were descended from?" Kristoff asked.

"No, to make sure I never repeated the mistakes that some of my predecessors made. You know what they say: those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. I told myself at the time that I wasn't going to do that, but who knows; I may have done it already, if my instincts are right." Elsa flipped a few more pages and came to a halt somewhere close to the end of the book. "Here it is," she said, jabbing her index finger under a sentence on the verso.

Anna followed her sister's finger. "King Edvard of Fjordane? You mean _Grandpapa_? Elsa, he wasn't from Sunnmøre!"

"Oh, yeah? Look again." Elsa's finger traveled to the next sentence. "'Edvard of Fjordane was born Edvard, Crown Prince of Sunnmøre, to King Bjørn of Sunnmøre and his wife, Queen Dagmar. Although the firstborn and the only male heir to the throne, Edvard abdicated to wed Princess Erika of Fjordane, thus acceding to her parents' wish that whomever married their daughter, their only child, would rule the kingdom and continue the family line. Two years after their marriage and coronation, King Edvard and Queen Erika rejoiced over the birth of a son and heir, Prince Erik –'"

"Uncle Erik," Anna interrupted.

"'And later, a daughter, Princess Idun, who would later marry King Agdar of Arendelle.'"

"Mama and Papa."

Kristoff shook his head. "Okay, so we know your grandfather was once the heir to the throne of Sunnmøre. That still doesn't explain who the throne then passed to and who this Snow Queen is, or how Sunnmøre got frozen in time."

"Hold on, Kristoff; I'm getting there." Elsa's eyes roved over the next couple of paragraphs. "I think I found it. Listen to this. 'Edvard of Fjordane also had two sisters, the Princesses Ulrika and Agnetha of Sunnmøre. Upon his abdication, Edvard's throne was to legally pass to the second-eldest child, Princess Ulrika, who was formally recognized by King Bjørn and Queen Dagmar as their heir and the future queen. But after the king and queen passed away and before Princess Ulrika could be officially crowned Queen of Sunnmøre, a blizzard like no one had ever seen overtook Sunnmøre, burying the kingdom in snow and ice. So frigid was the storm, with powerful winds, hail and sleet like daggers, and snow that could bury a person forever, that many were forced to flee. Some, however, were not so fortunate. As all who left were afraid to return to the kingdom, those who were left behind were presumed dead, Princess Ulrika and Princess Agnetha among them.'"

Anna, who had been listening to her sister with her mouth agape, finally spoke. "That's awful. Those were the great-aunts we never knew, and they're gone forever. Elsa... does it say anything about the cause of the winter storm?"

Elsa nodded. "Actually, it does. 'Following the deaths of the princesses and the freezing of Sunnmøre, rumors began to swirl in the neighboring kingdoms, sparked by a story that most likely began with ice harvesters who had stumbled upon the Valley of the Living Rock.'"

"Hey, Kristoff!" Olaf cried, jumping up and down on the desk. "That's where your family lives! Did they tell the story?"

Elsa waved her hand. "Yes, Olaf, they did. Listen. 'Known for making prophecies of great portent, the troll elders who led the inhabitants of the valley had long ago foretold of a great ruler born with powers of ice and snow, who would arise and trap his or her kingdom in eternal winter. The freezing of Sunnmøre was considered the fulfillment of this prophecy, despite the fact that no ruler was ever found. However, those unfortunate enough to stumble upon the remains of the kingdom swore they saw a woman keeping watch over all who dared intrude.'"

"That's gotta be her," Anna said. "The historians who wrote this stuff down probably didn't want anybody to think they were crazy, so they doctored the books a little bit. But the trolls aren't usually wrong, especially when they make prophecies. Kristoff's told me so many stories about troll prophecies coming true... uh, Kristoff?" Anna snapped her fingers in front of the face of her fiancé, who had suddenly gone quiet when Elsa mentioned the troll prophecy in the story. "Earth to Kristoff. Are you okay?"

When Kristoff still didn't respond, Olaf pursed his lips so that only his buck tooth was visible. "I think he's fine. I've seen Sven get like this whenever he sees a lady reindeer in the woods."

Elsa shook her head. "Fine or not, he's gotta snap out of it. I think he knows something." The queen wiggled her fingers and sent a gentle puff of icy breeze flying into Kristoff's face. "Kristoff, are you with us?"

"Huh?" Kristoff blinked and swiped at his face, suddenly remembering that he had a bride-to-be, a future sister-in-law, and an inquisitive little snowman staring at him. "Yeah, yeah. I was just... I _know_ that prophecy. Grand Pabbie told it to us once, word for word. 'Your future is bleak, your kingdom will splinter, your land shall be cursed with unending winter. With blasts of cold will come dark art, and a ruler with a frozen heart. Then ice and fear will bring death to all, until a heart the rain can thaw.'"

Elsa gripped the back of a nearby chair. "What else did he say, Kristoff? Did he mention Sunnmøre outright?"

"No. All he told us at the time was that it was a kingdom hidden away in a valley, and it could only be found by slipping through a crack. Based on what Filip and Emil told us about finding Sunnmøre in a valley through a mountain crevasse, though, I'd say the odds are pretty good that the kingdoms are one and the same."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it. Grand Pabbie also told us another story about the kingdom in the prophecy. According to legend, the kingdom is ruled by a queen who possesses a magic mirror, and no, this isn't like _Snow White._ This mirror doesn't tell her she's the fairest one of all; it allows her to see everyone and everything, and she uses its power to search for and destroy bonds of love, so everyone will be as cold and lonely as she is."

Anna's blue eyes were wide. "How does she do that? How _could_ she do that?"

Kristoff scrunched his face up in thought. "If I remember right, it has to do with playing on people's greatest fears. Fear can destroy life and love just as much as an act of pure evil can."

"Tell me something I don't know," Elsa said quietly, her eyes lowering to the floor. She knew all too well how fear could consume a person until that life was gone, as she had nearly let her own fear destroy herself, Anna, and the entire kingdom of Arendelle. Unless conquered by love, fear had the power to mushroom and spiral out of control like a winter storm.

"If she's lonely, maybe she just needs a warm hug," Olaf offered sweetly, holding out his twig arms. "That always cheers me up when I'm lonely."

Anna smiled at the little snowman. "Your hugs could cheer anyone up, Olaf," she said, kissing Olaf's snowy cheek. She then put an arm around her sister's shoulders and squeezed tight. "What about the last part of the prophecy, Kristoff? 'Until a heart the rain can thaw'? What does that mean?"

Kristoff shook his head. "I don't know. It's the one part Grand Pabbie didn't explain to us. Some trolls think it literally means the rain will thaw a frozen heart, and others think it's some kind of metaphor. Me, I'm not sure. Grand Pabbie always says it's better to find things out for yourself instead of knowing too much at once."

"I'm worried we might know too much already," Elsa commented. "The queen might've spared Emil and Filip, but she didn't do it out of goodness. She did it to let us know she's out there. She has some kind of plan."

"What do you think it is, Elsa?" Anna asked, tightening her hug around Elsa's shoulders.

Elsa gazed out the study window at the brilliant summer day, as though expecting to see a frozen kingdom once again. "I have no idea, Anna. That's what scares me."

* * *

Anna loved sitting by her bedroom window, especially during the summer. When the nights were warm, she could open the window, sit in the window seat, and admire the beautiful view before her. The sky was a rich, velvety black and flung with as many stars as the eye could see, all twinkling like diamonds. The moon was likewise shining bright, bathing Arendelle in a pearly glow and sending streaks of silver rippling through the waters of the fjord. It was the perfect view for Anna to absorb and contemplate, especially while she read, said her prayers, and thought her deepest thoughts. Tonight, she was doing the last two, the third most of all, when a knock at her door brought her back to Earth. "Who is it?"

The door opened and Elsa poked her head in. "Mind if I come in?"

"No, of course not! You know the door's always open for you." Anna smiled and patted the spot beside her on the window seat. "Come on in and sit down."

Without a word, Elsa slipped in, closed the door behind her, and joined her sister by the window. "Beautiful night, huh?"

"Sure is."

"Have you said your prayers?"

Anna grinned. "You sound just like Mama. Remember how she always asked us that before we went to bed?"

Elsa chuckled. "Yeah. I prayed every night for you, Mama, Papa, and all of Arendelle. And after the accident, I almost stopped praying altogether. I prayed more out of desperation than anything else, begging God to keep you and everyone else safe from me. There were so many times I felt like He had abandoned me."

Swallowing a lump that suddenly formed in her throat, Anna reached out and took her sister's hand. "He never abandoned you, Elsa. He never abandoned either of us. He was with us all the time, even when we both made some really dumb mistakes. I know people think God can never love them because of the mistakes they make, but He loves us no matter how horrible our sins."

Elsa smiled through newly sparkling tears. "Like Mama and Papa with us. And like you with me. You loved me even when I shut you out and froze your heart. I never thought anybody would love me that much."

"Same here. I was too blind to realize you loved me all the time, but look what happened."

"We saved each other, with a lot of help from Him," Elsa said, pointing to the heavens. "Love will thaw."

"Love will thaw." Anna fell silent, returning her pensive stare to the fjord outside. She was so quiet, Elsa gave her forearm a gentle pat after minutes of nothing but chirping crickets. "Anna? What's on your mind?"

A further pause passed before Anna finally spoke. "I did say my prayers, Elsa... and I prayed for the queen." She waited, watching Elsa carefully to gauge her sister's reaction, but Elsa gave no sign that she was outraged. Rather, she nodded, simply keeping her ice-blue eyes on Anna. Taking this as a good sign, Anna continued. "I know we're called to pray for our enemies, and call me crazy, but..." She shrugged her shoulders. "Somehow I feel sorry for her. Am I nuts for saying that?"

To Anna's great amazement, Elsa shook her head. "No. If you're nuts for saying it, then I'm just as crazy. Believe it or not, I feel sorry for her, too. I think about her, what Kristoff said about her, and I can't help seeing myself. I know, I know, that's not how I ended up," she said, holding up a hand to stop Anna when her sister opened her mouth to object. "I mean it's how I _could've_ ended up. Something really horrible must've happened to the queen to make her give in to using her powers for evil instead of good."

"You mean like what happened to you, only worse?"

"Yeah. Except I came that close to giving in. I was so angry and scared, I almost let myself become evil."

"Elsa." Anna gathered her sister up into a tight hug. "There's no way that could've happened. No. Way. And you know why? Because there's a big difference between you and the other Snow Queen: you had love to save you, and that kept the goodness alive in your heart. Whatever happened to the other queen, I don't think she had anyone to love her or that she even understood love in the first place. People who can't understand love will either be silly about it like I was, or become so lost in hate and revenge that they can't see what's right in front of them. Look at Hans. He was the youngest of thirteen brothers, and they were always picking on him, shoving him aside, and heck, three of them pretended he didn't even exist. Because of that, he was so desperate to be loved and admired that he turned to evil to get what he wanted: to be a king whose people loved him. And as mad as I was – am – at him for betraying us, I still feel sorry for him."

Not for the first time, Elsa found herself amazed at her sister's capacity to love and forgive. "Have you really forgiven him, Anna? Sometimes I think what he did to you was unforgivable. I've had trouble forgiving him myself."

Anna nodded. "I forgave him a long time ago. Sure, I was mad and I _wanted_ to stay mad, but I knew I couldn't. If I stayed mad, it would've eaten me up. Forgiving Hans was hard, and I mean _hard,_ but I felt so much better after I forgave him." She smiled. "And yes, I pray for him, too."

Elsa laughed. "You've got more guts and grace than I do, Anna. Forgiving and trusting people have never really been my virtues, but I'm working on them. It's just taking time."

"Don't worry, Elsa. Your time will come. _Love will thaw._ " Anna squeezed her sister's hands. "Who knows? Maybe love will thaw the queen, too."

Elsa's smile shrank ever so slightly. "Maybe. Where or who that love will come from, and if it'll even work, though..."

Ever the optimist, Anna was not daunted by her sister's words. "Nothing's impossible, Elsa. Right?"

"Right." Though her heart warmed to see the smile on her sister's face, Elsa hated the doubt that seeped through the affirmation. _Lord, watch over us. I don't know what Your plan is here, but protect us. And for Anna's sake... watch over the queen, whoever she is._

* * *

Far away in the frozen kingdom of Sunnmøre, the Snow Queen was watching the tender scene in her chambers, in the magic mirror that was her window to the world. She heard the conversation, saw the sisters embrace, and felt the love between them, and she seethed. As if hearing the words spoken about her wasn't bad enough, they had to rub it in with such a gentle expression of love, and then put the cherry on the pie by speculating whether or not love could save her. _Love?_ Save _her_? What right did they have to decide whether or not she could be _saved_? She didn't need to be saved from anything. That time had passed long ago.

The sisters' words infuriated her. Granted, she knew it was Elsa's words that should have fed her anger the most, as the queen of Arendelle was a doubter, but the words Anna had spoken were the ones that wounded. True love, grace, forgiveness... such qualities didn't exist. Not for people like her, the Snow Queen of Sunnmøre. Yet as much as the speech burned her, the queen felt an old part of her stirred – memories that she had long kept locked up, buried with every emotion she had ever felt, save for the one that kept her alive: anger. Memories that threatened to chip away at the lump of ice that had once been her heart.

 _Fool,_ she thought, banishing the memories back to their inner dungeon and turning away from the sight in the mirror. _Conceal. Don't feel._

 _Conceal all you want, but you'll never stop feeling._

 _And what would_ you _know about feeling?_ the queen asked the disembodied voice that floated through her chambers. _The last I checked, glass wasn't capable of feeling._

 _Neither is ice, but there's always one exception to the rule, isn't there? You felt something while you eavesdropped on your..._ A nasty chuckle sang out in the pause that followed. _Loved ones._

 _Yes. Nausea._

The laughter grew louder. _Liar. You're longing for what will always be out of your reach: companionship, love, and the reassurance that you're not what you really are._

 _And what might that be?_

 _Turn around and look._

Against every nerve in her body that screamed at her to stay still, the queen turned and faced the mirror once again. The reflection that stared back at her was not that of an aged, yet still-beautiful queen, but a hideous, green-eyed monster with decaying skin and frayed hair; filthy rags took the place of her crystallized gown, and her royal tiara lay shattered in pieces on the floor. She screamed, throwing her hands up to shield her eyes, and spun away from the vile image. "No!"

 _Monster._

The word sliced through her like one of her own icy gusts, summoning even more memories, terrible memories of words whispered around a castle, looks of suspicion and disgust cast her way, and the worst memory of all: pain, pure anguish glistening in a pair of big blue eyes, pain that she herself was responsible for.

 _Monster._

"No!" The queen whirled back around, snapping her hands away from her eyes. She bored her eyes into the mirror's shining surface again, and there she was, as beautiful as ever. That beauty, though, bore the marks of age, of years that, in her opinion, had not been kind to her. Lines, some delicate, some deep, spiderwebbed from the corners of her eyes and mouth, like the cracks on a frozen fjord. Cracked like the lives she'd ruined. Frozen like her heart. _Conceal. Don't feel._ "I am _not_ a monster! I'm not the prophecy!"

 _Then prove it. Find someone who can love you. But be serious. No one loves a villain, especially one with a frozen heart._

The queen waved a hand at the mirror again, and the vision of Anna and Elsa reappeared. This time, Anna was tucked safely in bed, and Elsa was bidding her goodnight. The sisters hugged once more, stirring the unwelcome emotions inside the queen once again. "I know someone who can."

 _So she says. She only loved her sister because Elsa was always good. You've never had a good bone in your body, just a thirst for power. You'll never be able to prove Anna loves you, unless you make her._

Something clicked within the queen, and a wicked smile spread across her face. "What a wonderful idea." She swept to the nearby window, gathering her glittering cape behind her, and opened the panes. With one flick of her hand, she sent two enchanted snowflakes swirling in the direction of Arendelle, focusing all of her power, her fury, her fear, on the kingdom's beloved princess. Once the snowflakes were out of sight, she returned to the mirror, which now showed Anna alone, fast asleep. Her hair was an utter rat's nest, a string of saliva trickled from the corner of her mouth, and she snored like a drunken sailor, but there was something oddly... sweet about her all the same. _Gawky, yet merciful. So like..._ Shaking off the sudden emotion, the queen then summoned an image of Elsa. The queen of Arendelle was likewise ready to sleep, albeit kneeling by her bed and praying. The words were barely discernible, but _thank you, Anna, love,_ and _keep us together_ were a few that the queen heard loud and clear.

 _It's not fair, is it? She faced the same peril you went through. She should have been as lonely and cold as you, yet she emerged triumphant_ and _she got to keep the one who mattered the most in her life. What did_ you _get? A lifetime of loneliness and pain._

"It's _not_ fair," the queen agreed, her ire rising once again. Snowflakes began to materialize out of thin air and fall to the floor of the chamber, and jagged spikes of ice burst forth from the walls in response to her growing power. "No one will ever have what I lost." Wordlessly, she left her chamber and walked the length of the corridor, all the way to the room at the very end. She opened the door and stepped inside, into a space that was completely empty, save for one thing: a figure made of solid ice, a woman near her own age. She touched her fingertips to the figure's cheek. Ice was not supposed to change, but this ice did. For reasons unknown even to her, this figure had changed as the years went by. _To torment me, I suppose. Another part of this curse._ She blinked furiously, refusing to let any tears come. She had not shed a tear in forty years, and she would not cry now. Nothing could make her cry anymore.

Icy resolve building within her, the queen fled the room and bolted up a nearby staircase, the one that led to the castle roof. There, she welcomed the blast of frigid wind that seized her in rough arms. Dark gray clouds spun overhead, and snow was beginning to fall in torrents. Anger finally taking control, the queen raised her hands and whipped the clouds into an even greater fury, conjuring up a giant, iridescent snowflake. She clenched her fists, pulling the snowflake back into her hands, took aim... and shot powerful beams of ice toward Arendelle, sending with them the newly-formed blizzard, a scream of fury on the wind, and the rage of a wounded soul.


	7. Gone In the Night

Last time, the Snow Queen was unveiling a devious plot to destroy the lives of Elsa and Anna. Now, Elsa is woken in the dead of night by a nightmare and the feeling that evil is following them... and Anna is about to receive one of the biggest shocks of her life.

* * *

Elsa gasped as she shot upright in bed. Chest heaving, her eyes darted around her room, but found no evidence of the presence she had felt in her dream. _Lord, what a nightmare,_ she thought, rubbing first her eyes, then her temples. It was like one of her occasional nightmares about the Great Freeze, but darker somehow. This time, there was a black _thing_ among the swirling snow and spears of ice... a heavy, oppressive force that preyed on every fear she had ever had and threatened to swallow her whole. A force of pure evil.

Elsa shivered, wrapping her arms and her blankets more tightly around herself. She had felt terror, even intense pain, during that fateful time in her ice palace and on the frozen fjord, but never in her life had she experienced anything like this. It was far colder than any ice she could conjure, leaving a clammy film on her skin and terrible shudders jouncing through her body – shudders that would not abate despite the warm summer weather. The feeling that someone or _something_ was stalking them lingered in the pit of her stomach, and a scream of fury rang in her ears, echoing over and over until it nearly drowned out all other thoughts.

That scream, as angry as it was, also tore at Elsa's heart. She registered the sound and heard not a scream of evil and anger, but a cry for help – the wail of one who knew and lived ultimate suffering. Elsa herself had not uttered that scream, but she had screamed on the inside many times in her life: Anna's accident, her parents' deaths, the curse upon Arendelle, and, worst of all, Anna's freezing to solid ice. Someone somewhere was suffering terribly, and Elsa had to wonder if it was from the same sinister presence that she had felt in her nightmare.

Suddenly desperate to walk, to move about, anything to shake the feeling of dread tying her gut into knots, Elsa rose from her bed, donned her robe, and left her bedroom, shivers still quaking her body. _Maybe if I get something warm to drink, I'll warm up._ She wended her way down the spiral staircase, thinking how ironic it was. She had always declared that the cold never bothered her, yet now, for the first time in forever, the cold was bothering her very much indeed. But, she reminded herself, this was no ordinary chill. This was something ominous, lying in wait like a predator.

The frigid feeling was no better by the time the queen reached the castle kitchen. Thankfully, Gerda was still awake, enjoying a cup of tea and, to Elsa's pleasant surprise, a plate of _kringla,_ sweet, buttery, pretzel-shaped cookies that were traditionally eaten during the Christmas season. The head housekeeper looked up and smiled, rising in deference to her queen. "Queen Elsa, what are you doing up at this hour?"

"Bad dream. I thought maybe a warm drink would soothe my nerves," Elsa explained. "May I join you?"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you don't even have to ask," Gerda said, pulling out a chair for Elsa. "You have every right to sit wherever you want, you know."

"That's no excuse for being rude, though," Elsa said with a small smile. "I might be queen, but I'm not gonna abuse my power." She took her seat and waited until Gerda sat before nodding at the plate of cookies. "So what made you decide to make a batch of _kringla_? The only time we usually eat these is when Christmas comes around."

Gerda shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know," she replied, pouring a cup of tea for Elsa and putting a few _kringla_ on a small plate. "I just had the most bizarre feeling all of a sudden, as though a winter storm is approaching, so I made the winter cookies. I felt... cold inside, so cold I was shivering."

Elsa's teacup rattled slightly and she fought to still her hands. "You too?"

Gerda set the teapot back on the table with a mild clunk, gazing open-mouthed at the queen. "You, Your Majesty?"

"Yeah. That's what my nightmare was about. Normally, the cold doesn't bother me, but this was..."

"Dark? Evil?"

Both women started as Kai entered the kitchen, likewise looking as though he had spent a week in a frozen lake. "Don't tell us you had the same nightmare, Kai," Gerda said, motioning for him to sit down.

"If it involves a blizzard and a feeling like the devil's breathing down your neck, then yes." Kai gratefully accepted the cup of tea Gerda offered him and threw back half of it like it was whiskey. "The evil feeling in the nightmare woke me up, but the omen of a winter storm? That's what baffles me. We haven't had winter in summer since..."

"Kai," Gerda chastised gently. "I know this probably isn't what you're suggesting, but I really don't think this storm, if that _is_ what's coming, is Queen Elsa's doing."

Elsa bit into one of her _kringla_. "No, trust me, you'd know if it was me."

Kai held up a hand. "I know it's not you, Your Majesty. When the Freeze happened two years ago, I merely felt cold. This storm is blowing in with nothing but malice; I feel almost flattened by the evil that's coming."

"That makes three of us." Elsa sipped at her tea, though the warmth did little to assuage the powerful chill in her system. "I'm worried about Anna," she said, raising her eyes to the ceiling. "Somehow, I have a horrible feeling that this evil force is targeting her and me."

Both Kai and Gerda stared at their queen. "Just you two?" Gerda asked.

"But that's not possible, is it?" commented Kai. "I wouldn't think evil singled people out or discriminated."

"No, evil definitely doesn't discriminate, but take it from me, it has no trouble singling people out or targeting certain people." Another chill shook Elsa's slender frame. "I'm gonna go check on Anna. Would you both do me a favor and look in on Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven, please? And after that, check on the staff and make sure everybody's okay."

Nodding their agreement with a simultaneous "Yes, Your Majesty," Kai and Gerda hurried off, Kai upstairs to check on Kristoff and Gerda to the stables to peek in on Olaf and Sven. Elsa also ventured upstairs, saying a prayer for her sister and fighting the shivers and chills that seemed to grow more intense with every step she took.

* * *

Like her sister, Anna was also awake, shivering in her nightgown. She was also not impervious to the nightmare that had affected everyone in the castle, a creepy feeling gripping her stomach in an iron fist. _What is going on? It's summer, but it's cold as ice._ She got out of bed, wrapped herself up in a fuzzy blanket, and padded to her window seat. _Please, don't let it be true..._ Her heart sank when she saw the evidence of her nightmare advancing across the fjord, stormy gray clouds and gusts of snow blowing in from the northern mountains.

"No," the princess breathed. "If the Snow Queen is the one who screamed in my nightmare, then she's the one who sent this storm... but why would she attack Arendelle? What's so special about me and Elsa?"

Suddenly, it hit her. "Oh, no... she knows about Elsa's powers. She's threatened by another Snow Queen. She wants to kill Elsa!" Panicking, Anna leaped from her window seat and sprang to the door. "I've gotta warn my sister!" She reached for the doorknob and had barely brushed it with her fingertips when she cried out and yanked her hand back. Ice was rapidly forming over the knob, freezing it in a solid block. "Oh, no!" Anna pounded on the door with all of her might. _Lord, what am I gonna do? I'm trapped! Wait a second!_ Anna reached into her nightgown and pulled out her fire crystal, which was still glowing red. _I know Kristoff said it's not to be used for personal gain, but this isn't for me. I'm not gonna lose my sister again, and if I burn saving her life, then I burn._ Inhaling deeply, she touched the crystal to the ice.

Steam rose from the ice block, melting it into water within seconds. Letting out a triumphant laugh and tucking the crystal back into her nightgown, Anna wrenched the knob and tried to throw the door open... but the door opened in slow motion, finally coming to a halt halfway and refusing to budge any further. "What the..." Anna peered out into the corridor. There was Elsa, just yards from her room, standing as still as a statue. "Elsa! Get out of here! The Snow Queen is gonna kill you! Can you hear me?"

Elsa didn't respond. She didn't even blink. It was as though time itself had frozen, leaving Anna the only breathing, animate thing within the warp. "Elsa!" Anna hollered again, bolting to her sister, trying and failing to shake her. "Elsa, wake up! You have to get out! _She's gonna kill you_!"

"Perish the thought, Anna."

Anna jumped at the female voice coming from her bedroom. _Oh, no._ Scared though she was for her sister, Anna summoned her courage and re-entered her room. There, perched on the window seat, was the Snow Queen. The princess froze where she was, fascination nearly pushing her initial horror aside. _Good night, she looks just like Elsa. I wonder..._ "How did you get up here? How did you freeze time?"

The queen smiled. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Tricks, apparently, that your sister has yet to learn."

Fear and anger blasted Anna's fascination to smithereens. "Don't you touch my sister. If you wanna hurt Elsa, you're gonna have to go through me!" Immediately, Anna recognized the futility of her words. Here she was, threatening a woman with the very same abilities as Elsa, powers that were probably twice as powerful, given the queen's apparent age. Anna knew she wouldn't stand a chance against someone with this kind of magic, but magic or no, she was not going to give up without a fight, and she definitely was not going to let anyone hurt her sister.

The queen arched an eyebrow, regarding Anna with obvious amusement. "You think I want to kill Elsa?"

For a moment, Anna felt her resolve waver. "Don't you? Aren't you threatened by another Snow Queen, another person with ice magic like yours?"

"Threatened?" The queen let out a mirthless laugh. "Child, I have honed and strengthened my powers for over sixty years. My magic is far greater than your sister's could ever be." She rose from the window seat, and Anna was stunned at how tall she was. She was even taller than Elsa's five-foot-six. "No, Anna, I'm not here for Elsa. I'm here for you."

Anna's stomach plummeted. "Me?" She began backing up toward the still-open door. "Why would you want to kill _me_? To hurt Elsa? To destroy our family?"

"Ah-ah," the queen taunted, waving a hand and magically shutting the door. "Can't have you escaping now, can we? I'm afraid you're only half-correct, my dear. Believe it or not, killing you is the last thing on my mind."

"But you _do_ want to hurt Elsa and destroy our family?" Anna asked brokenly, feeling tears come to her eyes. "Why? Why would you want to do something so... so..."

"Evil?" the queen finished. Though her tone was as cold as the powers contained in her fingertips, Anna swore she saw a flash of anguish cross the older woman's icy blue eyes. "Because it's who I am." She blinked and the pain disappeared, as though she were trying to bury it. "All right, enough chatter. I didn't come here to pay a social call. I came to get what I want, and I'm not leaving without it." She crooked a finger at Anna, beckoning her to step forward. "Come with me, Anna."

Outrage surfaced once more. "Are you _crazy_?" Anna cried, backing against the closed door and finding the lock frozen solid again. "Okay, dumb question; you _are_ crazy, 'cause nobody in their right mind would bust in here on a blast of ice, freeze time, threaten to hurt the queen of Arendelle, and try to kidnap the princess on top of it!" She planted her feet and folded her arms across her chest. "There is no way in heck I'm going with you. You can freeze Arendelle and make all the blizzards you want, but you are _not_ taking me, and you'll hurt Elsa over my dead body."

"Let's not get extreme, shall we?" The queen didn't even sound fazed by Anna's defiance. As a matter of fact, she sounded bored. "I thought you might be less than excited about coming with me. But there's something about me that you'll learn quickly, Anna. When I don't get what I want, I take it."

Anna opened her mouth to retort, but found herself mesmerized. Two snowflakes, glowing a brilliant blue, flew in through the open window. "What the..." Before the princess could move, the snowflakes made a dart for Anna and coated both of her eyes. Anna screwed her face up, shutting her eyes against the sensation... and then everything changed. Her memory went black, eclipsing all thoughts of... who? Her sister? Her fiancé? Did they even exist? She barely even remembered fuzzy outlines of a goofy reindeer and a chipper little snowman. The only person she knew for sure, the only one who mattered right then and there, was the woman standing in front of her. The woman who was beckoning to her in a gesture of companionship, holding out a hand that, for some reason, she desperately wanted to take. "Who... who are you?"

The woman smiled. "Who am I? Take my hand and I'll tell you."

Anna hesitated. A face, younger than the one before her, but eerily similar, swam in her memory before flickering and fading away. She had trusted that person once, hadn't she? So why shouldn't she trust this woman – a queen, judging by her tiara – as well? Without a word, she laid her hand in the outstretched one.

The queen's smile grew even wider, and she drew Anna into her arms, kissing her forehead. "I'm the only family you need, Anna," she whispered, waving a hand to unfreeze time and thaw the doorknob. _Come on, Elsa. I want you to see me leaving with your sister, and know that you have lost everything... just as I did long ago._

* * *

A jolt quaked through Elsa. What just happened? Had she frozen where she was? The last she remembered, she had been on her way to Anna's room to see if her sister was all right. _Anna._ Coming to her senses, she sprinted to her sister's room and threw the door open. What she saw nearly stopped her heart cold. Anna was being spirited away in a swirl of snow and ice, by a woman whose face Elsa couldn't see. She did, however, catch a glimpse of a midnight-blue cape disappearing in the blizzard, just as the snowy mass vanished through the open window and into the oncoming winter storm.

"No!" Elsa screamed, making a mad dash for the window, but it was too late. The nightmare had come true. Not only was there another enchanted snowstorm that would put Arendelle into the deep freeze once more, but the Snow Queen had broken into their home and taken the one thing that Elsa could not live without: her sister. "ANNA!" Elsa bellowed into the howling wind, ice spraying from her body and coating the walls of Anna's room. "No..." Tears streamed down the queen's face. _Not again!_

Elsa's scream brought footsteps on a run. The next instant, Kai, Gerda, and Kristoff burst through the door, screeching to a halt when they beheld their queen crying. "Your Majesty, what..." Gerda's words were lost as she saw Anna's empty bed and the ever-approaching snowstorm outside.

"It was the Snow Queen, Gerda, just like we all dreamed," Elsa said, wiping tears from her face. "She's brought a storm on Arendelle, and now she's..." Everyone watched, feeling helpless as the queen released a sob. "She's kidnapped Anna."

" _What_?" Kristoff ran to the window and looked outside. No sign of Anna, only the thundering, gunmetal-gray clouds pouring snow and sleet, and the waters of the fjord, now beginning to ice over. "She just came and took her? Elsa, how could you let that happen? Why didn't you stop her?"

"I _couldn't_!" Elsa yelled. More ice shot from her body, forming spikes against the window seat and walls, and the other three leapt back in fright. "Time froze somehow. By the time it resumed, I ran into Anna's room, but all I saw was her disappearing in a flurry of snow. I _wanted_ to save her, Kristoff, but I couldn't! Don't blame me for something that was out of my hands!"

Kristoff closed his eyes, clamping a hand to his forehead. "You're right. Time must've frozen just like you said, 'cause Kai, Gerda, and I were kinda dazed when we came to. I'm sorry, Elsa. I'm not blaming you; I'm just..."

Elsa's face softened. "It's all right, Kristoff," she said softly. "I know you don't blame me. Truth is, none of us are to blame. It's the Snow Queen's fault."

A small smile crossed Kai's face. "It's good to hear you're not blaming yourself for this, Your Majesty."

"If the Freeze taught me anything, Kai, it was never to blame myself for something I couldn't control," Elsa replied. "And it also helped me realize that I'll never be able to fix my problems just by sitting on my butt." Drawing herself up, she wiped away the last of her tears and cleared her throat. "I've gotta go after them."

Gerda gasped. "But, Your Majesty!"

"No buts, Gerda," Elsa said, gently but firmly. "I lost Anna once. I'm not gonna lose her again." She closed the bedroom window and latched it, and turned back to her friends with her jaw set. "And I'm gonna show that Snow Queen that nobody messes with family." She crossed the room until she was standing in front of Kai. "Kai, I'm leaving you in charge of Arendelle while I'm gone. Will you be all right?"

Despite the tense situation, Kai smiled. "I served as regent for three years until you were crowned queen, Your Majesty. I'll be just fine."

"And the storm?"

"Nothing we can't handle, thanks to the plan you drafted after the Freeze," Kai said. "I'll put all of Arendelle on alert and make it perfectly clear that you are not responsible for the weather. We'll open the castle for soup and hot gløgg, and we'll have plenty of blankets and warm clothing ready for anyone who needs them."

Elsa gave her regent a grateful smile, glad that he was so level-headed in a crisis. "Kai, thank you. I know I can always count on you. All of you."

Gerda moved to stand beside Kai. "We'll keep the kingdom safe, Queen Elsa. You go find Princess Anna and bring her home." Her lips twitching slightly, she suddenly strode forward and wrapped her arms around the queen in a motherly hug. "Just be safe."

A lump formed in Elsa's throat as she returned the embrace. This woman had been a mother to her ever since the passing of Elsa's own mother five years before, and that hug made her feel every bit as loved as she had ever been. "Thank you, Gerda." She kissed the older woman's cheek and turned to Kristoff. "Are you coming?"

Now it was Kristoff's turn to look shocked. "You want me to help you rescue Anna?"

Elsa's brow furrowed. "Do you not want to rescue your fiancée? 'Cause if you don't, I'm hitching Sven to your sled and taking it out myself."

Kristoff's jaw tightened. "No way."

"No way am I taking your sled?"

"No." Kristoff put a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "No way am I staying here while Anna's in trouble. She's your sister, and pretty soon, she's gonna be my wife. We've gotta find her and bring her home."

For the first time, Elsa smiled. "All right, then. Let's go hitch up Sven and tell Olaf we're going on another adventure."

"Think he'll want to go?"

"Of course he'll want to go. This is Anna we're talking about," Elsa said as they made their way down to the stables. "Olaf would give up his snow flurry if it meant keeping her safe. He loves her just as much as we all do. It's like he's always saying: some people are worth melting for. Anna is worth melting, freezing..." Elsa paused, remembering the sacrifice her sister had made for her, and made a silent vow to herself right then and there. "And dying for."

Ten minutes later, after throwing on his warm ice harvesting clothes, waking Olaf, and telling the snowman about their mission, Kristoff had everything they needed for their trip loaded into the sled. Sven was hitched up to the front, itching to get going, his hooves pawing the hard-packed floor of the stable. Olaf was seated in the back with the rest of the provisions, and Elsa was riding shotgun beside Kristoff, who, of course, took the reins. With one last goodbye to Kai and Gerda, the foursome took off out of Arendelle and into the storm, all prepared for the inclement snow and ice... but all wondering what kind of obstacles the Snow Queen was going to have in store for them along the way.


	8. Cold, Hard Lies

Sorry about the delay! I know this is a little shorter than previous chapters, but there's some heavy stuff going on here. Anna has just awoken after being kidnapped by the Snow Queen, and she's suffering from a case of snow-induced amnesia. What's going to happen now that she's vulnerable?

* * *

Anna awoke to a burning pain in her head and a deep chill in her bones. _What... what's going on?_ Blinking her eyes open, she was greeted by a hazy blue blur. She squeezed her eyes shut again and rubbed at them furiously, trying to get rid of the scales that seemed to cover them. At last, her vision cleared and a room came into focus – a room with stone walls that were coated in blue-hued ice. _No wonder it's so cold,_ she thought, wrapping her arms around herself. She shivered in her nightgown as she surveyed her surroundings. Clearly, she was in some kind of bedchamber, as there was a wardrobe and a bedroom suite _made of ice._ The only things in the room that were not made of ice were the bedclothes, which contrasted with the blues of the room in a glowing, blood red. Draped across these linens were more splashes of color: a winter gown of rich silver and black velvet, a velvet cloak of scarlet, woven with gold and trimmed with fur, and snowy-white petticoats, pantalettes, and other underthings.

Enchanted though she was by the vibrant, lush colors, all Anna could think about was getting warm. In a twinkling, she shucked her nightgown, pausing to inspect the bright red crystal hanging from her neck. _What's this? Whatever it is, it's pretty, but hot. Maybe I'd better keep it hidden. I don't want anybody getting burned._ She donned the underthings, gown, and cloak, tucked the necklace into her bodice, and sighed with relief when warmth enveloped her body. She then noticed a pair of boots beside the bed and gloves on the bedside table and slipped them on as well. Then, and only then, did she espy the mirror on the wall opposite her. Her reflection stared back at her, eyes widening and jaw dropping. _Who is that?_

The young woman gazing at her was a regal beauty, the silver and crimson of her clothes setting off the roses and cream of her skin. Her freckles had faded away to almost nothing. Her eyes glowed a deep cerulean, her lips and cheeks were tinged with ruby, and her hair fell to the small of her back in waves of flame.

 _Is that me?_ Anna asked herself, mesmerized. _Whoa, I look... beautiful. Almost as beautiful as..._ the thought ended as she shut her eyes against an oncoming rush of blackness. A second later, her head cleared and the world reoriented. _That was strange._ A name, a face, had been present in her thoughts, but sudden darkness blocked them out. It was almost like something didn't want her to remember certain things, but why? And who was so important in her life? Who and what mattered that much?

"Don't you look beautiful."

Anna spun on her heels and nearly lost her balance, arms waving wildly as she struggled to right herself. Not an easy task, with a grand scare and a slick floor. Right on the threshold of the bedchamber stood the woman who, Anna now remembered, had brought her here. From where, though, was a mystery. "You," she breathed, taking a step backward. "You brought me here."

The woman nodded. "Yes, I did. I rescued you, Anna."

Anna frowned. "How do you know my name? Rescued me from what?" She took in the woman's gleaming gown, cape, and tiara, and another memory was blocked out by the darkness. Holding a hand to her forehead to stop the dizziness, she asked, "Who are you?"

The woman smiled and spread her arms wide. "I am the Snow Queen of Sunnmøre. I'm also your family."

"Family?" Anna was bewildered. Didn't she already have a family? Maybe if her mind wasn't such a big black hole, she would know. "What kind of family?"

"All in good time, my dear," the queen said, striding into the room. Her shoes, made of the same exquisitely carved ice as the bedroom furniture, clinked like glass on the frozen floor. "I know your name because I've been watching over you. As for your rescue, I saved you from someone who wants to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Anna asked, holding her hands to her heart. "Who would want to hurt me?"

The queen's expression sobered. "Another Snow Queen, one who cursed her kingdom with a powerful winter spell and left her people to freeze to death. She hurt you twice before I rescued you. She used her powers to freeze both your heart and your head. Freezing your head took away your memories of her, thank goodness, but freezing your heart..." The queen sighed and bowed her head. "You would have died had I not intervened."

"How did you thaw my heart?"

"Well, only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart. Do you remember me kissing your forehead at all?"

Oddly enough, she did. Through the black mire her mind had become, Anna saw a memory surface as clear as day: this woman, the Snow Queen of Sunnmøre, hugging her close and kissing her on the forehead. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I do."

The queen's smile returned. "A different kind of true love's kiss, I'll admit, but it worked."

Anna unconsciously touched a long lock of hair. For some reason, she felt like something should have been there, some kind of mark or streak, but it, too, was swallowed up by the darkness. "So, if you saved me... doesn't that make you a hero?"

The queen chuckled. "Heroine, Anna. I've never thought of myself as a heroine, you know. There were those long ago who called me a monster."

 _A monster?_ Anna thought, bristling at this idea. How could someone who saved her life and wanted to protect her, who was _family,_ of all things, be a monster? "You don't look like a monster."

"Looks can be deceiving, Anna. The most beautiful face can hide the ugliest soul." Anna thought she heard the queen's voice catch, but dismissed it when the older woman spoke again. "The Snow Queen who seeks to harm you doesn't look like a monster, either, but what else would you call someone who curses her kingdom and freezes the heart of an innocent human being?"

The darkness beat down memories fighting to the top, bringing Anna to the only conclusion she could arrive at through the fog. "A monster."

The queen nodded, something unfathomable glittering in her pale blue eyes. "That's right, Anna. Don't ever forget that." A moment of silence passed before she cleared her throat. "Well," she said, changing the subject, "How do you like your clothes?"

Anna looked down at herself, brightening when she remembered her new outfit. "I love them! They're so beautiful," she said, swirling around in the dress, the cloak billowing about her. "They look like something a princess would wear."

"But my dear, you _are_ a princess. Remember?"

 _No. All there is is darkness._ Anna shook her head, and the queen began another story. "The Snow Queen was always jealous of you. She hated that you were smarter, kinder, and more beautiful than she was, so she tried to put you down every chance she got. She told you that you would never be anything more than just the spare, a pretty porcelain doll to use for decoration." No doubt seeing the hurt on Anna's face, the queen motioned for the princess to follow her, which Anna did, all the way down a corridor, down a staircase, and into a throne room made completely out of ice.

All Anna could do was gape, rendered motionless by the beauty she saw. Ice columns and walls in shades of aquamarine and sapphire, a chandelier formed from one enormous ice crystal, dainty little objects that refracted not only blues, but purples and pinks as well. Best of all, though, was a throne at the center back of the room. The ice seemed to glow with the Northern Lights themselves. "Oh, wow..."

"I knew you'd like it." The queen sounded pleased. "You can share this with me, Anna. We can rule together. You'll be more than just the spare here. You'll be my heir. What do you say?"

The heir. More than just the spare. The idea was wonderful. If she really was treated so badly by this other Snow Queen, maybe she should stay with _this_ queen... her family. The one who'd saved her with an act of true love. And if the queen loved her, then why shouldn't she give the same love in return? After all, everyone needed to be loved. "Yes!" Anna cried, throwing her arms around the queen. "I'd love to!"

A sigh of relief came from the queen as she returned the hug. "How wonderful. Now you know who you are: Princess Anna of Sunnmøre."

* * *

 _I did it._

The Snow Queen of Sunnmøre could not have been more pleased. She had proven him wrong. She _had_ gotten Anna to Sunnmøre and, through magic and a cleverly concocted story, deceived her into believing she was meant to be the kingdom's heir... to love her as the guardian she would now be. Just as she would love Anna like the sister she had once lost.

But, she knew that Elsa would soon be on her way. She didn't have to consult her mirror for that. If Elsa was anything like her, she was stubborn and determined, and nothing was going to stop her from speeding to Sunnmøre to reclaim her sister. _Good._ She wanted Elsa to come here, so that the Snow Queen of Arendelle would know the pain of losing a sister forever. In order to do that, she had to turn Anna against Elsa, and she hoped beyond hope that the lies she had told Anna would be enough to break Elsa's frozen heart.

 _It won't be._

The queen's head shot up at the sound of the voice. Thank goodness, Anna did not appear to hear it. Then again, he had that power – the power to make himself heard to whomever he chose and only to them, in certain instances. Now was one of those times. _You lie._

 _Look who's talking. You know as well as I do that a mirror doesn't lie. You, on the other hand..._

 _Don't we all have to do what we have to do to survive? To feel some modicum of love in this world? Well, I've done it. Anna loves me, and I love her._

 _Do you?_

 _What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I do!_

An evil chuckle echoed in her mind. _You think you do. But you don't know what love is, do you? Just wait until Elsa gets here. You'll find out just how much Anna loves you. These sisters are more powerful than anything you could ever imagine... but they just might be persuaded to join us._

 _Then persuade them! I don't ever want to be alone again. I want Anna to stay here as my heir, and Elsa to join us as a lady-in-waiting, right after we fill in the cracks of her broken heart._

 _But who's going to fill in the cracks of_ your _broken heart? You're frozen for all time. No act of true love is going to save you, and no matter how hard you try, no one is ever going to replace your precious sister._

 _She will,_ the queen snapped back, holding tightly to Anna. _I'll make you see that. I'll prove to all of you that I'm worthy of love._ But even as she thought it, the doubts began to sneak in. He knew it, too, evidenced by his lingering cackle in her head.


	9. The Guardian

Holy cow, it's been a long time since I've updated this story! However, I think I've finally gotten a good chapter up for you guys. When we last left off, Anna was under the enchantment of the Snow Queen of Sunnmøre. Now, our four heroes are flying through a vicious winter storm, on their way to save Anna - but not before they make a stop at a bridge along the way, which is guarded by someone very close to Kristoff!

In this chapter, I've played with the story "The Three Billy Goats Gruff," which is actually an old Norwegian folktale. I also pay homage to the Disney movie _Bedknobs and Broomsticks_ \- see if you can find the Easter egg! And, I've borrowed a few ideas from my good buddy HaFanForever, who will be able to spot them when she sees them!

* * *

Gusts of wind tore at the trees in the mountain forest, sending their needles flying through the air like darts. Snow and sleet hurtled through the air in a vicious cyclone, threatening to sting and blister the faces of any and all who dared venture into the storm. For the foursome flying through the woods, the blizzard seemed to be the embodiment of someone's rage, which indeed, it was: the wrath of the Snow Queen who now held Anna hostage.

No one felt this more deeply than Elsa. She knew in her soul that the queen wanted her to come rescue Anna, but this was no mission of mercy. This was all a sick, twisted game, just another of the queen's schemes to fracture bonds of safety, trust, and love. She was trying to ensure that Elsa would never be happy again, but to do that, she would have to... dread colder than the storm settled into Elsa's stomach at the awful thought. "Faster, Kristoff," she urged her friend, who jiggled Sven's reins and called a "Hyah!" to his loyal reindeer. Sven, who was already booking it through the snow, bolted forward as though there were wings on his feet.

Elsa didn't blame him. Big and goofy though he was, Sven had the unmistakable sixth sense that all animals were born with. He knew that Anna, who petted him, loved him, and fed him carrots, was gone, and he could sense the danger in the air.

It was the same danger that Elsa herself had felt when Hans and his men had broken into her ice palace two years ago. They had stormed the palace, chased her up to the second floor, and cornered her, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable... and wrathful enough to strike back at those who threatened her life. She hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, yet the threat of death and the sense of violation had brought out an anger she never knew she had. The same anger was now coursing through her veins yet again: the Snow Queen had broken into her true home, the castle in Arendelle, and stolen her beloved sister away from her, unleashing her vulnerability and anxiety. Yet, for all her fears, Elsa was doing her best to keep her temper in check. The last time she lost control, she had nearly killed two of Hans's men. _I will never kill anyone, no matter how angry I am or how horrible the deed they've done. I will not kill the Snow Queen. I won't._

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kristoff asked, with a sideways glance at her. "By the way, thanks for the shield. It's really making life a lot easier for me without all that sleet and wind slapping me in the face."

One corner of Elsa's mouth lifted. Just before they drove into the heart of the storm, she had created a magical shield around Sven and the sled, preventing them from being assaulted by the blizzard. It was almost like being inside a reversed snow globe. The snow was bouncing off the shield and the wind, howling in protest, could not get in. "Don't mention it. As for that penny..." The queen sighed. "I'm angry, Kristoff."

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't you be?" Kristoff asked, laying the reins against the right side of Sven's neck. The reindeer immediately pulled to the right on the forest path. "The Snow Queen broke into the castle and kidnapped Anna. Who wouldn't be upset by that? Anna's my fiancee and your sister, Elsa; trust me, you're not the only one who 's mad here."

"I can't get mad," piped up a voice from behind them. "Is that a bad thing?"

Elsa turned to face the little snowman, who was perched atop a bag of supplies in the back of the sled. "No, Olaf, it's not a bad thing at all," she assured him, reaching out to touch his snowy cheek. "I think when I created you, I didn't put a mean bone in your body."

"I don't have bones – or a skull, remember?"

In spite of their dire situation, Elsa chuckled. Trust Olaf to make her laugh when all she wanted to do was shoot ice. "I remember. But I think you know what I mean. When I made you, I was thinking about how happy Anna always was, never getting upset or angry about anything. I guess I gave you that happiness, no anger included. It's probably a good thing that you can't get mad, because that means you're here to keep Kristoff and me calm. And believe me, we need all the calm we can get right now."

Olaf pursed his lips around his buck tooth. "Yeah... yeah, you're right! Boy, that makes a lot of sense." His big coal eyes peered up at Elsa. "Hey, Elsa? I'm still worried about Anna, even though I can't get mad. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Elsa smiled and gathered Olaf into her arms. "Trust me, Olaf, it's a very good thing."

Olaf squeezed the queen back. "Thank goodness. I just love Anna so much, I didn't know if worrying was good or bad."

"That's why you're worried about her, buddy," Kristoff said, without looking back. "Because you love her. That's why we're _all_ worried about her." The wind roared suddenly, as though incensed by the tender moment, and the pelting snow intensified. Kristoff whistled through his teeth. "It's getting worse. Elsa, would you please check the map and see where we are? Normally, I know these woods like the back of my own hand, but the storm's so fierce, it's messing with my sense of direction."

Elsa reached into a bag at her feet and pulled out the map that Emil and Filip had given her before they left. On it was Arendelle and the lands to the north, which now included the territory around – and the paths leading to – the frozen kingdom of Sunnmøre. Giving the document a brief perusal, she quickly located their spot. "We're about halfway there," she said, pointing to a sketched river on the map. "See this river? It's over there to our right." She then directed their attention to a frozen river yards away. "If we follow it for about a quarter-mile, we'll come to Jötnar Bridge."

"Jötnar Bridge?" Kristoff asked, rather excitedly for their grim situation. "Hot dog, God really is looking out for us! That's where my Aunt Phyllita lives!"

"Aunt Phyllita?" Elsa was curious. When he and Anna officially became a couple, Kristoff had taken both of the sisters to the Valley of the Living Rock to meet all of his troll family. There hadn't been an Aunt Phyllita in the bunch, nor had Kristoff mentioned her... at least, as far as Elsa knew.

"Well, she's my great-aunt, actually. Grand Pabbie's sister. So yeah, in case you were wondering, she is a troll."

"I figured that much, but... Kristoff, if you don't mind my asking, why doesn't she live in the Valley of the Living Rock with the rest of your family? Why does she live on a bridge?"

"That's the catch. She doesn't live on the bridge; she lives _under_ the bridge."

" _Under_ the bridge?" Elsa repeated, hardly daring to believe her ears. "Like in the fairy tale about the Three Billy Goats Gruff?"

"That's not just a fairy tale, Elsa. That's a true story that's been passed down from troll to troll for hundreds of years. Somewhere along the line, humans who made contact with the trolls heard the story and made it into a fairy tale for their kids. Some trolls are actually bridge guardians, but only if there's something precious worth guarding on the other side." He cracked a small grin. "But not all of them are nasty like the troll in the story. From what Grand Pabbie's told me, he was a real piece of work."

"But what about your aunt? If she's a bridge guardian, what is she guarding on the other side of Jötnar Bridge?"

Kristoff's grin widened. "You'll see when we get there. Oh, and I gotta warn you: Aunt Phyll can be a little... out there. But she's got her reasons."

"What reasons?"

"Just wait."

 _Wait?_ It was all Elsa could do to keep from pelting Kristoff with questions. Rarely did the queen get this curious; curiosity was one of Anna's traits, not Elsa's. By the same token, Kristoff was rarely this enigmatic. Blunt, outspoken, and frank, everything about him was open and honest. For Kristoff to suddenly get mysterious with Elsa, there had to be something incredible up ahead. Incredible and magical, she was ready to bet.

As they sped along, the snowstorm suddenly abated – but for how long, Elsa was unsure. Minutes later, they came to Jötnar Bridge. Kristoff pulled back on Sven's reins, slowing him down to a stop. "Well? What do you think?"

Elsa surveyed her new surroundings. There was an ordinary bridge crossing the river, woods on either side, and a frozen waterfall where the river ended. Nothing unusual. "It's... just a bridge, Kristoff. I don't see your aunt anywhere."

That grin was still firmly attached to Kristoff's face. "Wait," he said again. He leaned in and whispered to Sven, "Easy does it, boy." Sven carefully walked onto the bridge, which creaked and groaned under the sled's weight as they crossed. The noises echoed loudly in the still air, loud enough to bring anyone running.

All of a sudden, a gravelly female voice cracked the air, startling Elsa so badly, she nearly fell out of the sled. "WHO'S THAT TROMPIN' OVER MY BRIDGE?"

Elsa found herself being righted by Kristoff, who was laughing. "Relax, Little Billy Goat Gruff," he teased. "Aunt Phyll might eat you up with kisses, but that's about it." He raised his voice and answered the demand. "Three Billy Goats Gruff and a reindeer who sometimes smells like a goat. Hello to you, too, Aunt Phyll!"

A delighted gasp reverberated off the rocks. "Is that who I think it is?" The next thing Elsa knew, a little troll with a shock of leafy green hair, a mossy robe, and a necklace of magenta crystals peeked over the bridge from the frozen riverbed. Her broad stone face split into a wide grin, and she bellowed with joy, "KRISTOFF!" She flipped herself over the railing and onto the bridge, leapt onto Kristoff, and crushed him in a bear hug. "Ooh, I've missed you! Gimme a kiss!" she cried, planting a smackeroo on Kristoff's cheek.

Kristoff, despite his attempts to return the hug, was almost killed with kindness. "Aunt Phyll, easy!" he choked. "I need my neck, and I need to breathe!"

Phyll's eyes widened in realization. "Ooh!" She quickly released Kristoff, who inhaled deeply and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, baby. I overdid it again. It's just so good to see you!"

Kristoff smiled. "No problem. It's good to see you, too."

Phyll clapped her hands on Kristoff's shoulders, holding him at arm's length. "Lemme get a good look at you, boy." She looked him over from head to toe, beaming with the approval of a proud aunt. "Mmm! You're so tall and handsome, and now you're gonna be a married man!" As Kristoff's smile disappeared, so did Phyll's. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I didn't even think." She gave him another, gentler hug. "I'm sorry about Anna. I know you're on your way to save her."

Elsa was surprised. "Wait, how do you..."

"Grand Pabbie," Kristoff answered. "He doesn't miss a trick. When he knows something, all the trolls know, regardless of where they are." He looked at Phyll, who was looking at him expectantly, and then back at Elsa. The weight of the introduction he now had to make hit him. "Um... Elsa, this is my great-aunt, Phyllita, aka Phyll. Aunt Phyll, I think you might know my future sister-in-law... Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

Phyll swept a curtsy, surprisingly fluid and deep for so short a troll. "Your Majesty." She then looked up with mischief in her eyes. "I still can't believe I'm gonna be great-aunt to a queen, and a queen with a magical gift, too! Don't that beat all?"

At once, Elsa relaxed. Yes, they still had a battle ahead of them, and their circumstances were terrible, but, as with the rest of Kristoff's family, Phyll had a remarkable gift for easing tension – using humor, no less. "It sure does. It's great to meet you, Phyllita, and you don't have to bow to me. I might be queen, but I'm still a normal person. You can call me Elsa."

Phyll grinned. "Oh, baby!" She immediately rushed over to Elsa and seized her in a hug. "If I'm gonna call you Elsa, then you've gotta call me Aunt Phyll! After all, you're practically family!"

"Does that make me family, too?" said Olaf, who had been quiet during the hugfest.

Phyll did a double take at the sight of the little snowman. "Mama, pull the wool over my eyes, 'cause I sure don't believe what I'm seein'! Pabbie told me about a little snowman who could walk and talk, but I wasn't sure I believed him! Now I can tell him I'm eatin' that crow he's been cookin' for me!" She opened her arms to Olaf. "Get your little snowy butt over here and give me a hug!"

Olaf jumped for joy. "Yippee! I love warm hugs!" he said, launching himself into Phyll's embrace. Unsurprisingly, she hugged him so hard that his head became dislodged from his body. When he'd been put back together, he announced, "I like her, guys! She's a great hugger."

"She's also a great guardian. Which reminds me, Aunt Phyll..." Kristoff gazed at his aunt. "Can we come through so Elsa and Olaf can see why you guard this bridge?"

"Of course!" Phyll hopped onto the seat between Elsa and Kristoff. "Let's go!"

Kristoff urged Sven forward and they crossed to the other side of the bridge. Next, they rounded a corner and entered a large cave cut into the mountain. Kristoff parked the sled at the mouth of the cave, lit a torch, and waited for Phyll. "After you."

"Okay. Follow me, and stay close." Phyll led the way through the cave, which gradually grew warmer the farther they went. A bright red glow soon appeared at the end of the tunnel, and finally, the cave opened up into a room filled with brilliant, ruby-red crystals, all emanating extraordinary warmth. Olaf stared around, wide-eyed. "Man, it's warm in here. Good thing I've got my snow flurry to keep me cool," he said, pointing to the cloud of falling snow over his head.

"Wow," Elsa breathed, her eyes darting from one cluster of crystals to the next. They were growing off the walls, the ceiling, and the rock floor of the cave, so numerous that Elsa couldn't count them all. "Are these fire crystals?"

"They sure are," Phyll said with obvious pride. "This is the Fire Crystal Cave, where the troll elders grow and nurture the fire crystals given to those who demonstrate selfless acts of true love. Do you know the power behind the fire crystals, Elsa?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes. Fire crystals can melt through the coldest ice, and are only to be used to help others in need. If they're ever used for personal gain, they'll consume their owners in flames."

Phyll gave Elsa an approving grin. "I knew you were smart as a whip. You're exactly right, and that's why Pabbie appointed me guardian over the cave and the bridge. I know the power these precious babies hold, and it's my job to protect them from everyone who'd try and steal 'em."

"But who would steal a fire crystal and misuse it?" Elsa asked, although she had a pretty good idea.

"People who are hungry for power they got no idea how to use. Then there are others who would sell the fire crystals for a pretty penny, thinkin' it would help others and turn them a fast buck while they're at it." Phyll shook her head, causing her leaf hair to dance wildly. "Fools. They're so blinded by greed that they can't even see they're courtin' death."

Elsa knew that all too well. Hans had been blinded by greed and had almost destroyed her, Anna, and Arendelle in the process. Was the Snow Queen the same way? " _Has_ anyone ever tried to steal fire crystals from the cave? During your time as guardian, I mean."

Phyll instantly sobered. "Oh, yeah. There was one fella who tried to tromp over the bridge, but I stopped him. And I'm tellin' you, I'm glad I didn't let him across. He was actin' all sweet, tryin' to butter me up, but I could tell he wasn't as sweet as his words. Those eyes of his were colder than ice and black as sin, and I could tell by lookin' in 'em that his heart was just as black, too. Now, trolls can't see the future. We can prophesy, but we can only tell general outlines and symbols of what will happen, not definite pictures. Now, Pabbie had prophesied about great evil and the reflection of sin and sorrow, and lookin' at this man, with sin reflected in his eyes, I had to wonder if he was the evil Pabbie talked about. I wasn't takin' any chances, so I fought him off."

"How?" Elsa asked.

Phyll's mouth turned up again, and she waved a hand at a nearby cluster of fire crystals. The whole thing shattered into twelve perfectly cut crystals, all of which hovered over to Phyll with another wave of her hand. "You have your magical powers, Elsa, and I have mine," she said, placing the crystals into a bag slung over her shoulder. "It wasn't easy. As it turned out, he had powers, too – dark powers like nothing I'd ever seen. I started doubtin' myself, but then I remembered that nothin's impossible with a little help from the man upstairs." Phyll pointed to heaven with a smile. "I said a prayer, and sure enough, He gave me the strength I needed to beat him. I threw him into the river and had it wash him all the way back to where he came from. But, before he disappeared, he hollered to me, 'This isn't over! Fire crystals aren't made for love, they're made for power! I'll have my revenge on everyone who believes in the power of love!'"

Elsa fought a shudder. "What happened to him after that?"

"I don't know, baby. A vision came to me not long after that, but all I could see was the man and a mirror." Phyll shrugged. "I'm not an elder, so my prophecies aren't as clear as Pabbie's. I see symbols more than anything else." She took Elsa's hand and gazed into her eyes. "When I look at you, I see a dagger made of ice. What it means, I can't tell you. All I know is that it's gonna mean a turnin' point for you."

"Turning point? Phyll, do you mean I'm going to become evil?" Elsa asked fearfully.

"No, Elsa. A turnin' point can mean anything. And people become evil of their own free will. You have to choose either darkness or the light, baby. And I'm prayin' you'll stay in the light." Gently, she pulled Elsa down to her level and kissed the queen's cheek. "Have faith."

Elsa gave Phyll a rather shaky smile. "Thanks, Phyll. But sometimes, I just feel..."

"Like you're doubtin'? Don't doubt yourself, Elsa. Too many have fallen into that age of not believin' and never gotten back out. Believe that you can save your sister, that God has a plan for you, and that there is somethin' wonderful in you." Phyll smiled. "Pabbie's always said we can expect great things from you, Elsa. I believe in you. You just have to believe in yourself."

 _Have faith. Great things. Believe in yourself. God, please help me to believe,_ Elsa prayed, feeling strength flow back into her body. _Give me strength to rescue Anna. Calm my spirit. And please, keep my sister safe._


End file.
